Border Towns Feel the Economic Pain of Trump’s Trade War with Canada

Small towns along the US-Canada border, like Port Huron, Michigan, are reeling from the ripple effects of renewed tariffs and political tension between the two nations.

Restaurants, retail stores, and duty-free shops once bustling with Canadian visitors are now seeing sharp declines in business. Border crossings are down by 17%, and Canadian car trips into the US have dropped 32% since President Trump’s return to the White House and the implementation of new tariffs.

Kristina Lampert, a waitress in Port Huron, no longer sees the mix of Canadian and American tips she once counted daily. “We used to hear, ‘We’re here for the view.’ Not anymore,” she says.

In nearby Sarnia, Ontario, Duty Free stores have seen up to an 80% drop in sales, with store owners and community leaders calling the economic damage “collateral.”

Tensions have led to a Canadian “buy local” response, with many choosing to avoid US trips altogether. Once tightly linked through culture and commerce, border communities are now caught in the crossfire of international trade disputes.

Local leaders, like Mayor Anita Ashford of Port Huron, are calling on federal decision-makers to consider the human impact: “We need each other. Washington must understand how these policies hurt real people.”

The US Travel Association warns that a 10% drop in Canadian tourism could cost up to 14,000 jobs and $2.1 billion in economic activity. For Michigan alone, Canadian visitors brought in $238 million last year—a lifeline for its border towns.