Keeping Up The Pressure

Despite their president's avowals that Canada has nothing the U.S. needs,  many Americans are discovering (much to their shock, I'm sure) otherwise. As I have written before, Trump's threats to our sovereignty, his open contempt for our country, his extortionate, Mafia-like tariffs have all stiffened Canadians' resolve to assert their national pride and show their anger toward the U.S.

In addition to widespread boycotts of American products, perhaps the most obvious and stinging rebuke is Canadians' ongoing refusal to travel to that country.

Travel by Canadians coming back from trips to the U.S. dropped sharply in April, according to preliminary data from Statistics Canada.

Return trips by Canadians coming back from the U.S. by air dropped by 19.9 per cent, and return via land borders dropped by a whopping 35.2 per cent compared to April of last year.

Canadian return trips by air from the U.S. in March were down 13.5 per cent compared to March 2024, and return trips by car for that month were down 31.9 per cent.

That decline has led to airlines making big schedule changes.

WestJet is pausing nine routes between the U.S. and Canada as demand dampens for travel between the two countries.

A spokesperson for the airline confirmed the following suspensions in an email to CBC News:

• Vancouver-Austin (May through October)
• Calgary-Fort Lauderdale; Edmonton-Chicago; St. John's-Orlando; and Winnipeg-Orlando (June)
• Kelowna-Seattle-Tacoma; and Winnipeg-Los Angeles (June through August)
• Edmonton-Atlanta; and Winnipeg-Las Vegas (July through August)

Westjet is not the only airline making adjustments. 

Toronto-based Porter Airlines ...  told CTVNews.ca that 80 per cent of total network capacity during the summer peak period is now dedicated to domestic flights. The figure is up from a previously planned 75 per cent.

Westjet is also scheduling more domestic flights, as we opt to patronize our own country. 

Air Canada is a bit more circumspect in discussing its changes.

When asked whether it was changing its routes or flights, Air Canada told CTVNews.ca in an email Friday that it is “adjusting capacity” to U.S. sun destinations, using smaller aircraft and reducing routes in response to the changing market demand.

“We continue to monitor demand and will make adjustments accordingly,” wrote the country’s biggest air carrier. It also said it adjusted its non-stop Vancouver-Washington Dulles flights to connect in Toronto.

It said it has experienced “some softening in the transborder market,” with bookings on the cross-border market overall down about 10 per cent from April to September.

The Montreal-based airline reduced capacity for routes to U.S. leisure destinations such as Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona, Bloomberg reported March 28.

Our product and travel boycotts, by all reports, are having tangible effects. We should take satisfaction in inflicting economic pain on the giant to the south.  The bully may be much bigger than us, but our solid, principled ways of standing up to it should gladden the patriotic hearts of all Canadians.