4 days ago
‘Rue Canada': Vermont town hopes to lure Canadians by temporarily renaming major shopping street
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Burlington, Vt. is temporarily naming a major shopping street after Canada in hopes of attracting Canadian tourists who have eschewed U.S. travel since President Donald Trump took office.
The town rechristened Church St., a popular shopping street for visitors, as Canada St. in a ceremony Wednesday. Signs reading 'Rue Canada St.' are set to remain in place until Sept. 1.
The move was a 'symbolic gesture' designed to show that 'Trump's policies are not in line with our values,' said Burlington city councillor Becca Brown McKnight.
Those policies, which include aggressive tariffs alongside threats to annex Canada as a '51st state,' have caused a sharp deterioration in cross-border relations. Canadians, including Quebecers, are travelling to the U.S. in smaller numbers than before. In June, 164,000 Quebecers travelled to the U.S., a 43-per-cent drop from the 286,000 who made the trip in June 2024.
Canadian tourism offers a significant boost to the Burlington and Vermont economies, McKnight said.
'More Canadians come to Vermont each year than people who live here.'
Around 581,000 Canadians visited Vermont between January and May 2025, a 23-per-cent drop from 2024, according to the state's Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Fewer tourists have made for less spending, with the agency reporting a 41-per-cent drop in Canadian credit card spending in the first five months of 2025 compared with the year-earlier period.
Reduced tourism is bad news for Burlington, McKnight said, where around 15 per cent of the town's downtown spending typically originates from Canadians.
Locals have noticed the decline and 'are hearing French spoken less often,' she said.
McKnight said she has already heard positive feedback from Canadians, who she said have told her they plan to visit Burlington this year. But she also acknowledged that some Canadians don't feel comfortable making the trip to the U.S.
'I completely understand that.'
Vermonters in Burlington enjoy travel to Quebec, McKnight said, adding that she spent her honeymoon in Montreal.
