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Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘People are just scared': Timmins travel agent sees drop in U.S. bookings
While the United States was once a top travel destination for Canadians looking for sunshine, shopping, and seasonal escapes, those travel patterns are changing. According to Laurie Leonard, a senior corporate travel agent with Enjoy Travel in Timmins, American destinations just aren't drawing the same crowds anymore. 'I have noticed that my flights and stuff, even to Miami, Orlando, are not what it used to be. It's on a decline,' Leonard told TimminsToday. Leonard, who's been in the business for 25 years, said U.S. politics are a factor. 'When things started to go sideways with Trump being re-elected … and then when there was mention of tariffs, a lot of people took a step back,' she said. 'There seems to be a fear of tariffs. Just going to the States all in itself, the difference in the money, the safety issues, people just don't have the same feelings they used to.' Statistics Canada data show that in April, an estimated 4.5 million international arrivals — both returning Canadian residents and non-residents — entered Canada by air and automobile, marking a 15.2 per cent decrease compared to April 2024. It's the third straight month of year-over-year declines. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. by automobile fell to 1.2 million in April, a 35.2 per cent decrease compared to the same month in 2024. It marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Leonard said she's seen clients cancel pre-booked trips to the U.S. over what she calls a growing sense of uncertainty. Concerns range from fluctuating exchange rates to fears over border restrictions, particularly among snowbirds. 'One couple I had was concerned about talk that seasonal travellers would need to fill out extra forms and pay a new kind of tax. They just said no, we're not going to start paying extra fees,' she said. 'People I know have sold their mobile homes and aren't going back to the States to spend their winters like they were.' Leonard said she's had virtually no bookings for U.S. flights in the last two months, a dramatic change from past years. Instead, Canadians are looking elsewhere. Cruises, European getaways, and domestic trips are all on the rise. 'It's been a crazy, crazy season as far as destinations,' she said. 'I've had a lot of demand for cruises, and even more people are looking to travel within Canada. One family chose Lake Louise over a road trip in the States. The dad told me he'd rather keep his dollars in Canada.' There's also a subtle but growing shift in cruise habits. Where many clients once booked voyages out of Miami, more are now opting to sail from Vancouver, avoiding the U.S. altogether. 'An older client said, 'What if we travel to the States and then we can't get back into Canada?' It's the unknown. Trump comes up with the craziest stuff on a day-to-day basis. People are afraid of what might happen next,' Leonard said. While U.S. bookings are at a standstill, Leonard has also noticed a resurgence in another corner of the travel industry: the return of the travel agent. 'For a while, I saw younger people booking everything themselves online. But now they're realizing that if something goes wrong, they're on their own. Some of those sites are U.S.-based, and people don't want to deal with that anymore,' she said. 'Now they're coming back to the office, saying, 'I want a real person. I want someone to help me if something goes wrong.'' Leonard believes it would take a major political shift to reverse the current U.S. travel trend. 'For Trump not to be the president of the U.S., that's what it would take,' she said. 'People are just scared.'
Canada Standard
22-05-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Ontario Budget Misses the Mark on Climate, Affordability, Equity, Critics Say
Ontario frames its latest budget as a response to the turbulent trade climate driven by U.S. tariffs, but some experts say it comes up short on funding for people and the environment. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy calls it a "plan to protect Ontario" with provisions to help workers and businesses facing tariffs, to "unleash the economy" with support for manufacturing, to lower costs for families, and to deliver better services. His fiscal outlook recalls past crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and rising interest rates, but warns the province "now faces one of its greatest challenges" in the form of U.S. tariffs. Ontario says the ensuing economic certainty threatens to undermine 2024's "solid gains" in job growth and GDP. The government forecasts a $6-billion deficit for 2024-25, growing to $14.6 billion next year, and $7.8 billion in 2026-27 before returning to a slim projected surplus by 2027-28. But critics say the budget is short-sighted for handing out benefits to businesses-without spelling out how those measures will benefit people-while neglecting support for everyday Ontarians and the environment, with long-term consequences to come. In some ways, the budget is notable for what it didn't include, writes Brian Lewis in The Trillium. Climate change almost isn't mentioned, except in reference to green bonds, and poverty is unaddressed despite rising affordability challenges. It includes $6.46 billion for taxpayer-funded subsidies feeding "electricity cost relief programs," but critics have noted those serve wealthy households and sustain high electricity use when consumption cuts would better serve the grid. The Narwhal reports Ontario budgeted support for "new pipelines connecting Alberta oil to new refineries" and $92 million toward electric vehicle charging infrastructure. But it reduced its "meagre" emergency preparedness funding-just one month after nearly a million Ontarians lost power due to an ice storm. The government also decreased its budget for emergency forest firefighting-a move that troubled John Vanthof, MPP for the northern riding of Timiskaming Cochrane, reports Timmins Today. Vanthof said that though firefighting budgets fluctuate, "the base budget shouldn't," as there is a consistent need "to have enough planes, enough staff, and enough resources ready." "Cutting that base is dangerous for Northern Ontario," Vanthof said. Bethlenfalvy said the government has a contingency fund to cover such things, but it doesn't appear in the budget. Ontario allocated funds for mining and the supply chains for critical minerals that are often located on First Nations territories, but the word "reconciliation" only appears in the budget twice, said the Chiefs of Ontario. The budget repeats the word "mineral" 63 times, and refers to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire 16 times. The chiefs welcomed the potential to increase mining capacity among First Nations, but also said they remain disappointed to see "no tangible commitments made into other key sectors for First Nations, such as mental health services, child and family services, and environmental initiatives." They also raised concerns that recently tabled legislation, Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, "will run roughshod over First Nations rights." While the latest budget contains some wins for the clean economy, it falls short of ensuring long-term affordability by weakening green building standards in its haste to spur more housing development, says Clean Energy Canada. writes that the proposed Bill 17, the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, could undermine municipal green building rules. The Atmospheric Fund similarly warns that the bill will limit "cities' abilities to plan for growth," risking long-term impacts on affordability "by exposing homeowners, tenants, and building owners to spiraling energy costs and the increasing impacts of extreme weather and climate change." The budget continues a long-term trend of underinvesting in line items for the everyday living of Ontario residents, like health and education, write Ricardo Tranjan and Ryan Romard for Policy Options. "Despite the serious challenges of the past years, Ontario remains the province that spends the least on its people, on a per-capita basis." Source: The Energy Mix
