New Brunswicker Bruce Newman loves New York City, but not enough to rethink his current boycott of travel to the United States.
“I do feel for people in New York, and Vermont,” said Newman. “I don’t have anything against Americans. It’s just the current administration.”
Newman considered taking his wife to New York’s famed Broadway for her 75th birthday last spring but decided to head to London’s West End theater district instead, despite the higher price tag.
“I’m one little guy and this is the statement that I can make and apparently a lot of other Canadians feel the same way,” he told Global News.
He changed his travel plans, as a response to the ongoing trade war, which escalated again last week when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs against Canada.
New York is feeling the impact of Canadians choosing other destinations and is hoping to lure them back.
NYC Tourism + Conventions unveiled its “Northern Neighbour Deal,” offering Canadian visitors 30 per cent discounts at more than 85 tourism, hospitality and entertainment businesses across the city.
“There has been a pause for some visitors, and we respect that and understand that. And we are here and welcoming them and ready when they are,” Julie Coker, president and CEO of New York City Tourism + Conventions Coker told Global News.
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Coker said Canada remains the city’s second-largest international market, but the city has seen a dip in visitors.
“We understand that there are some factors out of our control in terms of the sentiment that Canadians may have toward the U.S.”
Coker said the city welcomed nearly one million Canadian visitors annually before the pandemic, but that number fell to about 800,000 in 2025, a drop of roughly 19 per cent from the previous year.
Tourism officials expect the number of Canadian visitors to increase slightly this year to about 820,000, but it remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The promotion will run from Aug. 18 to Sept. 7, spanning the Labour Day holiday period in both Canada and the United States. Reservations open Aug. 4.
While many Canadians have chosen to boycott travel to the United States after trade tensions began, there has been a rebound in the number of visitors heading south of the border, said Ipsos Public Affairs senior vice-president Gregory Jack.
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“The situation with the U.S. has really moved from an emotional shock reaction to more of a sustained reality.”
But tourism to the U.S. has not yet returned to levels seen before the tariff dispute began, Jack added.
“Canadians are kind of in an endurance economy point of view right now. They’re enduring through what they think is a permanent shift in our relationship with the economy overall and with the U.S.”
The Big Apple is not the first U.S. destination trying to entice their northern neighbours to return. Kalispell, Mont., Buffalo and Las Vegas are also running campaigns aimed at attracting Canadian visitors.
For Neman, it remains a hard sell.
Coker says she wants to remind Canadians “New York is still the same.”
“We would ask Canadians to look at that and the history that we’ve had over many, many years and not just define our relationship over the past few years,” she said.
A discount. But we still get finger printed on the way into the country and can have our phones screened. Not to mention how many Canadians have been thrown in jail for no reason crossing. No thanks NY. Perhaps try again when you stop voting for grifters and con artists.
While I appreciate the discount, as far as I can tell, NYC is still in the USA so no deal.
Will it work?
No, it will not.
ICE, DHS and US law enforcement in general are drunk with power and dangerous…I wouldn’t set foot in that country and support their economy with my tourist dollars…there are still way too many Canadians spending their money in the United States, in my opinion…
I’m scared of the Muslim guy so I want be going. This is probably the liberals fault
People will go for discount and stay because they are kidnapped by ice.
It’s really messed up to promote murder on news comments. Global news should probably vet these comments.
All I have to say is the majority of the people voted for Trump.
So they enabled this.
Poor MAGA loser, Ben. Did you just get off your factory shift and have no beer to drink because Carney took your money?
I took my family to Thailand instead, 100 times better, this is a 10k trip the US won’t get.
For all the L I b t a r d s on here saying Oh no never, maybe visit the US and locate your loved Dictator Carney’s New York Mansion.
Now you are just stalking us.
As long as the psychopath is in charge why would any Canadian want to go to the states
Read the room. Canadians don’t need our news casts running what amounts to advertising for an American City trying to entice us to visit a country that has declared economic war on Canada in addition to threatening to annex us (all while being lead by a demented pdf file felon and his gang of sycophants).
Why are you wasting Canadian news time promoting tourism to the US in today’s trade climate? Use the time to promote Canadian destinations.
When Trump apologizes for all the bullying (especially the 51st state rhetoric) and insults, the US agrees to negotiate with us in good faith on a trade deal, then maybe we’ll consider going back to the US.
Please come to visit us and spend some money. We are running out of money because everyone that has it is leaving NY to move to red states.
Don’t be alarmed by the call to prayer being broadcasted it is not an air raid siren. The city is very safe, except when an illegal sets you on fire or if you are Jewish you might get stabbed a little bit, but it is very safe.
I get my full of socialism’s “benefits” here in Canada. Why would I pay through the nose to experience it with a slightly different accent?
If they didn’t want who they elect to affect their international relationships, then they shouldn’t have elected a pathetic, kid-touching, narcissistic, orange-painted, mentally deficient fascist to be their leader. The problem, though, is that Trump is *unbelievably* American – he is just the first modern President to so wholly represent the id of the nation. So no, we won’t be returning, even long after he finally gets a one-way ticket to hell, because he’s not really the problem. Americans are.
The New York mayor is a jihadi Trojan Horse and needs to get Charlie Kirk’ed. Hopefully the CIA or Mossad takes care of him soon.
“Eliminate TRUMP & maybe some will return! Maybe!!”
I bet that’s exactly what ppl think of Mamdani, or even Carney, too.
You are merely fueling a deadly fire. Is the world not quite divisive enough for you at the moment?
Do you really want more? Do you want more violence and more human rights abuses? Do you want it on your doorstep?
If not, maybe it is time for you, and everyone, to take some time for self-reflection. Do any of us want to be in the world that is being created daily before our eyes?
Everything about our modern society has denigrated into a big ‘DaVinci Middle Finger’ painting where no matter the angle, all anyone can see is a big fu** you.
When a politician you do not like is elected to office, is it responsible to act, not only so offended and victimized as some do today, which is on another level, but; do you feel like maybe being mean to your opponent is perhaps doing nothing more than giving license to your opponent to do the same to you?
In a nutshell, that is literally how the vast majority of fights that ever happened are started. The parties are rarely without fault on both sides.
In the intensity that is human history, we have generally deemed the one who threw the first punch (stone) to be the guilty party. It is imperfect as some might agree when considering situations of intolerable injustices.
Many of today’s youth and Liberal supporters believe that the Charter stops any chances of there ever being a conscription in Canada again –
I will highlight a government police action that took place in Ottawa in 2022 when the never before tested Emergencies Act was invoked. It was initially found to be justified, then unjustified, and is still awaiting appeal to the Supreme Court in 2026. 4 years and the government can maintain it’s position without intervention.
Now ask yourselves how many conscripted Canadian soldiers might die or becone permanently in a war that dragged out over 4 years while the government dragged its feet on an appeal.
Blue States are run by socialists and communist and supported by CNN and 0ther media. TDS is strong with these folks.
Who wants to visit a city run by a communist mayor. I wouldn’t go to moscow, so why would I go there.
Sadly we are probably punishing blue states more than red states but as the guy says “it’s one thing we can all do.”
Don’t go to or buy US made.
Screw Trump, ICE and Maga.
not until trump is gone and we see how things are after he leaves
Socialist states are extremely dangerous
I will spend my tourist dollars elsewhere
Maybe having Mamdani in charge has something to do with it.
Eliminate TRUMP & maybe some will return! Maybe!!
Just came back from the states. It was really nice to not have to talk to liberals for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to going back in fall.
No.