The Peru Gazette

“We now have the border crossing numbers for Champlain for March and, as anticipated, car crossings were down 31% compared with March 2024,” reports Garry Douglas, President of the North Country Chamber of Commerce. “Visitation was down 16% in February but we knew March was the month that tariffs and counter-tariffs hit, along with a heightened sense that many of our northern friends and neighbors would avoid travel to the U.S. for now.”

Douglas notes that part of the higher percentage can be attributed to the Easter break, when many Canadians traditionally travel in the U.S., falling in late March last year. “We also cannot define the relative degree to which three factors are all affecting cross-border travel,” he notes. “But it is a combination of a poor exchange rate for Canadians, a broad sense of hurt among Canadians, and the 25% surcharge imposed by Canada at the border as part of retaliatory tariffs.” While car traffic is down, the Chamber reports that truck crossings for March were up 12% and were up in January and February as well.

“We especially feel and appreciate the sense of hurt as one would with one’s family,” Douglas says, noting that the Chamber is engaged in a marketing campaign in Quebec via social media and TV that looks to differentiate the greater Plattsburgh area’s special connection with Quebecers, along with tools for area businesses to highlight the welcoming of Canadian visitors. “We need to remember that if visitation is off by 30% or more, that still means many of our neighbors are continuing to be here,” he notes.

The Chamber is hopeful that expected U.S.-Canada negotiations following the upcoming April 28th Canadian election can lead to an agreed way forward, but notes the need for a significant period of outreach, reconciliation and healing thereafter.

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