CNN
—
The bucolic, vineyard-dotted Eastern Townships region of southern Quebec has a message for Americans: come hug it out.
The region’s tourist board released a promotional video on May 26 portraying an English-speaking tourist who bashfully admits to being American — then gets a big hug from a French-speaking hotel receptionist.
It’s part of a CA$150,000 (US$109,000) ad campaign timed for the start of the summer travel season and aimed at US vacationers. Isabelle Charlebois, general director of Tourism Eastern Townships, said the video is meant to reassure American visitors that “they are not only expected this summer, but truly welcome.”
If travelers need that encouragement, perhaps it’s because amid a trade war and rising tensions some are wondering if it’s the right time to visit Canada.
“When our administration starts talking about making Canada the 51st state, I could understand if Canadian border patrol might be giving extra scrutiny to Americans,” said Brian Kirchhoff of Middlebury, Vermont.
While he still plans to visit Montreal for next month’s Canadian Grand Prix, Kirchhoff worries escalating rhetoric from the White House will have repercussions for Americans traveling abroad. “I just don’t know what attitudes are going to be as the situation continues to unfold,” he said.
Melissa Curtin McDavitt, a Fora Travel adviser in Los Angeles, California, was taken aback when clients cited concerns about politics and cancelled a planned girls getaway to Quebec City, a provincial capital that’s among the safest cities in Canada.
“I was shocked,” she said. “Like, ‘are you sure?’”
Other US travelers have been taking to social media forums to ask Canadians to weigh in directly. “We don’t want to stir up trouble,” wrote one American on Reddit. “Is it appropriate for us to visit?”
Andrew Siegwart, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), said Canadians working at hotels, resorts and other travel destinations are hearing similar concerns from Americans wondering if they should call off their plans.
“Our members and operators across the province are fielding these types of questions,” Siegwart said. “Is it going to be seamless to cross the border? Are we really going to be welcome?”
Such hesitations could have a big economic impact in Canada, where Americans made up nearly 79% of international visits in the third quarter of last year. US travelers spent $6.6 billion in the same period, according to Canada’s national statistics office.
“The US market is a really strong part of the economy,” Siegwart said, noting that as the peak travel season nears, he’s concerned by slowing cross-border travel. US resident trips to Canada sagged in both February and March, the first year-over-year monthly decreases since 2021.
About a third of TIAO members have reported lower summer-season bookings from American travelers when compared with the same period in 2024, Siegwart said.
“We’re concerned about the impacts of the trade dispute on travel plans by our US neighbors,” he said.
Like their counterparts in the Eastern Townships, members of the Ontario tourism industry are inviting Americans to visit — and telling them that they’ll meet with a warm reception.
“We really are ‘arms open’ to the world and our US visitors,” Siegwart said, using a tagline that riffs on the “elbows up” slogan that’s a rallying cry for Canadian resistance to Trump’s tariffs. “I’ve heard of a number of destinations in Ontario planning to really roll out the welcome mat.”
In western Canada, a group of tour operators specializing in grizzly bear viewing is launching a “Hey, Neighbor!” campaign this month, featuring small business owners speaking directly to Americans.
“We’ve been hearing your questions up here in British Columbia. You’re wondering if you’re still welcome,” the video begins. “Come on up. You’re always welcome.”
Other destinations in Canada are beckoning US travelers with reminders that their budgets go further north of the border. On April 28, Tourisme Montreal launched a “stretch your dollar” campaign with a real-time ticker tracking the exchange rate between US and Canadian currencies, which is currently very favorable to Americans.
“In Montreal, we’re privileged to have ties with the United States that are historical, cultural and geographical. This is just a way to encourage that to continue,” said Tourisme Montreal spokesperson Aurélie de Blois. “Montrealers are known for being warm, welcoming and open-spirited, which is not going to change.”
A skeptic might point out that tourism representatives have a vested interest in convincing Americans that Canadians still want them around. Ad campaigns don’t always mirror popular sentiment — and it’s clear that events on the national level have sparked widespread anger in Canada.
Nearly two-thirds of Canadians now see the United States as an “unfriendly” or “enemy” country, according to a YouGov poll last month; the same poll found that 61% are boycotting American companies. This winter, Canadian fans at NHL and NBA games took to booing the US national anthem.
But surging Canadian pride really isn’t hostile to Americans themselves, said Jessica Langer Kapalka, who co-owns Toronto’s Canada-themed Grizzly Bar. (Tagline: Canada’s most Canadian bar and grill.)
“We welcome Americans as long as they are respectful of our sovereignty and our culture. We aren’t anti-American, we’re pro-Canadian,” Kapalka said.
At Grizzly Bar, visitors of all nationalities can enjoy Molson lager and elk-topped poutine in a space decked with portraits of Canadian greats from Celine Dion to David Suzuki.
Plenty of everyday Canadians say they have no intention of taking out political frustrations on visitors — and some are going the extra mile to be neighborly.
In February, Canadian TikToker Tod Maffin posted an open invitation for Americans supportive of Canada to visit his Vancouver Island hometown of Nanaimo. On April 26, some 500 people took him up on it, gathering for group photos with the mayor in Maffeo Sutton Park and nibbling the town’s namesake dessert: Nanaimo bars.
“It filled my heart,” Maffin said. “When it comes to rank-and-file Americans, nothing has changed with the relationship and love and kinship that Canadians feel with the people across the border.”
Responses to Americans’ anxious social media queries have been largely friendly, too. Echoing a recurrent theme, one poster suggested that Americans come, but be sensitive: “Lay off the 51st state ‘jokes’ and you are welcome with open arms. Have fun, enjoy this beautiful country.”
In response to the American who asked, on Reddit, if it’s “appropriate” to visit, Blake Smith of Kitchener, Ontario, replied that even Canadians frustrated with US politics don’t have a problem with Americans as people. On a recent phone call, he underscored that perspective.
“I think your average person in Canada likes to judge individuals by themselves, on their own merit … not as a deep red MAGA Republican or a blue Democrat,” he said, then weighed in with an invitation of his own.
He said he hopes Americans who do decide to vacation in Canada can treat it as a break from current events. In Canada, he noted, it’s still considered a bit impolite to talk too much about politics.
“Leave your troubles at home. Turn off the part of your brain that’s doom scrolling,” he said. “Most people here just want to get along.”
