Trump, ‘elbows down,’ and a bumper N.B. tourism season

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Helping tourists land a big striped bass off a sandy Miscou Island beach seems about as far as it could get from the chaos in Washington.

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But for Andre Fortin, the owner of Akro Outfitters, that’s exactly what’s happening: the Trump administration’s controversial policies, including beefed-up border checks, are driving more Canadians to him, and to one of New Brunswick’s most picturesque locales.

And he’s not the only one.

For months, government and tourism industry officials have been predicting a strong summer tourism season in Canada, driven by people’s anger over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, or by stories of Canadians and other visitors being stopped – and in some cases, detained and deported – while trying to enter the U.S.

For Fortin, all that is translating into more business.

“We have more customers earlier, because our busy season is pretty much July and August. And this year, it’s started earlier, since early June,” he said. “Most of my customers come from Quebec, but I’ve seen I had some people from Nova, Scotia and Ontario, more. So my guess is it’s gonna be a busy, busy summer.”

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And why does he think this is happening?

“A lot of them are saying to me that they … won’t go to the States because of the Trump administration.”

Jordan Jamison, the co-owner of Bay of Fundy Adventures, which offers tourists a range of activities including sea kayaking, had a similar story to tell.

His bookings made in the first quarter of the calendar year were up 92 per cent compared to last year. That rise included a 20 per cent jump in American visitors. Canadian bookings are also exploding, up 85 per cent.

While he hasn’t had too many conversations with customers about why they’re suddenly looking east, Jamison said he “did have some (American) people ask if they were welcome.”

“And I said, ‘Of course, of course.’ Love to have you, and your dollar goes quite a ways.”

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And pouring on that New Brunswick charm is something the provincial tourism industry association wants Jamison and everyone else to keep doing.

Ginette Doiron, the CEO of the New Brunswick Tourism Association (TIANB), said she’s also hearing from many operators that this tourism season looks extremely positive – perhaps back to pre-COVID times.

“It’s definitely looking like a good season,” Doiron said. “We’re really optimistic.

“There’s a lot of places that are seeing a higher rate of reservations, or hearing that people want to come visit New Brunswick, or the destination that they want to see, or hearing that U.S. travellers want to come visit us despite what’s happening in the world.”

Now that the bookings are flowing, Doiron said, it’s time for New Brunswickers to launch a charm offensive.

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TIANB has kicked off a campaign to encourage Americans in the northeast to visit New Brunswick, reminding them that they’re very much welcome. And she wants everyone in New Brunswick to do the same, regardless of what they think of Trump.

“We’ve launched a campaign saying that we are very happy to welcome any visitors regardless of the passport or country of origin,” she said.

“The campaign is saying … that New Brunswick has been a welcoming province … and we’re ready to welcome you. We’re going to focus that campaign in Maine and in the U.S., so that they know. Because it’s not that (Americans) don’t want to come, they’re scared that they’re not going to be welcome.”

But there’s more to it than that.

“We’re going to pass the message around to our operators and our residents to say, ‘Listen, it doesn’t matter what’s happening in politics right now, we have an opportunity to capitalize on tourism and U.S. tourists who want to come visit us. So let’s be welcoming, and let’s be courteous to them as we would be to anyone else, as this is going to help our operators.”

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Later, she added that one of the messages of the campaign would be to “put your elbows down and be welcoming,” a reference to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “elbows up” campaign over U.S. tariffs.

A very similar campaign is happening on the other side of the border, with Maine in particular pulling out the stops to reassure Canadians that they, and their tourism dollars, are welcome and beloved.

The friendly cross-border competition was on display when Premier Susan Holt recently visited the U.S. for meetings with American governors. When those politicians began talking about encouraging Canadians to cross the border, Holt replied that her job is to urge Canadians to instead visit New Brunswick.

“I can’t tell Canadians to come visit the U.S. right now,” Holt said. “I’m going to tell them to go visit my neighbours in Nova Scotia, I’m going to tell them to spend some time at home because the relationship has been challenged by leadership. And we need to get back to normal. That’s what we all want.”

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For Willa Tomshack, the owner of All Done RV Camping in Sussex, which typically caters to seniors and people looking for longer stays, this season doesn’t resemble anything close to “normal.”

“I was full for COVID, and then I’d say this is next best (season to date),” she said, echoing Doiron’s prediction of a bumper year.

“I don’t understand why … maybe people are just spending more money in the summertime knowing they’re not going south-side,” Tomshack said, later adding that “anybody I’ve talked to, and even myself, I’m not going south-side.”

“There’s one camper here, they go to Florida, and they’ll keep going, and another one (who goes to)  California and they’re going to keep going. But as far as anybody else, everybody’s like, ‘No,’ they’re gonna go to Mexico for one week or something.”

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