Winnipeg City Councillor Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) has canceled her planned spring break trip to Arizona, opting for a Canadian destination instead due to the ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. She emphasized the move as a statement against how the U.S. government is treating Canada as a trade partner.
“We want to send a message to the federal government in the U.S. and also a message to U.S. citizens to really push their governments that this is not how you treat friends, this is not how you treat allies, and this is not how you treat people that are your neighbours,” said Gilroy.
The imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s past remarks about making Canada the 51st state have led to backlash among Canadian travelers. Statistics Canada data released Monday revealed a significant decline in Canadians driving to the U.S., with a 23% drop in return trips compared to the previous year.
Gilroy encouraged others to follow her lead and avoid traveling to the U.S. “I know that lots of people are trying to buy Canadian and buy local. I think that if we send this message, loud and clear, people will hear it.”
However, not all Winnipeg councillors are altering their travel plans. Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) is going ahead with his non-refundable trip to Nashville for a friend’s wedding but stated he won’t be making any additional U.S. trips in the near future. He cited both political tensions and the unfavorable Canadian dollar as deterrents.
Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) is set to attend a business conference in Dallas but does not anticipate taking personal trips to the U.S. soon. “During Trump’s first term in office, I didn’t go to the states at all,” he said. “And I don’t plan on any vacations to the states within this next four years.”
Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) recently returned from an arm-wrestling competition in Columbus, Ohio, where she was struck by the steep currency exchange rate. An Uber ride costing $34.62 USD came to $51.36 CAD on her credit card.
Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) has family in the U.S. and noted her son plans to attend a leadership conference in New Jersey. Despite trade tensions, she remains optimistic about Canada-U.S. relations. “The ties between Canada and the United States run so much deeper than any one trade agreement,” she said, emphasizing the historical, cultural, and familial connections between the two nations.
A spokesperson for Mayor Scott Gillingham declined to discuss his travel plans for security reasons but confirmed he has no scheduled trips to the U.S.
Source: Swifteradio.com
