18-03-2025
I'm a Canadian who lives in Florida. Don't let tariffs ruin our relationship.
Like many other Canadians, I fell in love with Florida as a child. In my case, it was seven decades ago, when my brother and I spent a week of our Christmas holidays in Miami with my grandmother and her sister.
The memories of our visit to the small house on SW 17th St. are still vivid. There was a trip on the Jungle Queen, watching alligator wrestling at the Seminole trading post, hamburgers at White Castle, and an evening at the auction house in Ft. Lauderdale. It was all very exciting for a five-year-old from small-town Ontario.
The intervening years have been filled with family vacations throughout the Sunshine State, including the pilgrimages to Disney World that are rites of passage for Canadian families.
A decade ago, we bought our home in Naples. This was to be our first full winter here.
Our story isn't unique. The economic ties between Canada and Florida run deep. According to Visit Florida, 3.2 million Canadians came here in 2023, almost 20% more than the year before. Somewhere between 350,000 and a half-million Canadians own homes here. There are 503 Canadian-owned companies in the state, and they directly employ 51,450 Floridians.
Canada is Florida's number-one export market, to the tune of $5.2 billion a year. Tariff-free access to Canada provides jobs and incomes for tens of thousands of Florida families.
But our ties are more than economic. Some of us trace our family roots, like my American-born grandmother's, to the United States. We attend each other's universities, our militaries defend freedom together, and we celebrate our achievements together.
Wherever they come from, tourists help drive Florida's economy, but Canadians in Florida provide much more than just hotel stays. They join churches, fundraise for health care and other charities, volunteer with seniors and contribute to cultural activities. Artis—Naples, the outstanding visual and performing arts center in Naples, has created a Canadian Friends of Artis—Naples group of patrons. These supporters don't just pass through the community. They are an important part of it.
The decision to impose punishing tariffs against Canada was made in Washington, not in Ottawa or Tallahassee, but the businesses and citizens of both countries will bear the cost.
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Tariff wars are like nuclear wars. Everyone loses. That's why our governments have worked so hard over the years to prevent both.
Companies and customers who buy imported goods and services will all pay these new taxes. Ordinary Floridians worried about the cost of living will see significantly higher prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump. The tariffs will also add thousands of dollars to the price of new cars and make building new homes or repairing hurricane damage much more expensive because of higher lumber prices.
In addition, Canada's reciprocal tariffs against the U.S. will cause Canadian businesses and shoppers to avoid American products that suddenly become more expensive.
Canadians here report that their American neighbors remain warm and welcoming. Many have reached out to say that they don't understand why anyone would undermine such a beneficial relationship. But that relationship is indeed being severely strained.
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Friends of ours had prepaid their Florida vacation until the end of April. They walked away from that investment and headed home last week. They will miss both the climate and the community, but their consciences won't let them stay in a country whose government says Canada should no longer exist.
They know that Washington won't notice their departure. But they represent millions of Canadians who are cancelling visits or changing buying habits because their country is suddenly under attack from its closest ally, neighbor and friend.
For generations, our shared goal has been to succeed together. I was there on April 6, 1987, when Ronald Regan told our Parliament how he saw the relationship:
As two proud and independent peoples, there is much that distinguishes us one from the other, but there is also much that we share: a vast continent, with its common hardships and uncommon duties; generations of mutual respect and support; and an abiding friendship that grows ever stronger.
Restoring mutual respect and support, and renewing the abiding friendship President Regan spoke of is what Canadians, including Canadians in Florida, want most of all.
We hope our American neighbors and friends share that desire.
Perrin Beatty is a former defense minister and foreign minister in Canada. He was President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce until last August. He and his wife are winter residents of Naples.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Canada tourists, transplants love Florida, not tariff wars | Opinion
