The escalating tariff war will likely lead to a general decline in travel by Canadians, but it may be many weeks or even months before Ottawa can bring in new programs to help Canadian advisors, the head of advocacy for ACTA says.
Speaking to some 200 Canadian advisors on a web chat, Avery Campbell, ACTA’s Director of Advocacy and Industry Relations, said new government of Canada programs to help agents can’t be created until the House of Commons resumes sitting. And that won’t be until some time after an election is held. Speculation is that an election might take place in late April or early May, which means it might be mid-May before the House sits again.
Even then, nobody knows what the economic situation will be at the time, or how much Canadian travel advisors will matter to a government that might be fighting to save the country’s auto industry or other manufacturing jobs.
Campbell said there are some programs currently in place to help agents and other business owners, including Employment Insurance programs. But new ones can only be created by the House of Commons.
Campbell noted that Stats Canada figures released on 10MAR showed that Canadian travel to the U.S. was down 14.5% last month compared with February of 2024.
Responding in part to tariffs on electricity exports to the U.S. announced by the government of Ontario, U.S. President Donald Trump on 11MAR said he will double the 25% tariff on the importation of Canadian steel and aluminum to the States. He also again threatened to ruin the Canadian automobile industry and suggested tariffs would disappear if Canada became a 51st state of the U.S.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford later on 11MAR said he would meet on 13MAR with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who made it sound like there might be a potential compromise that would avoid further escalation of the tariff war. But things change in a New York minute in the world of Donald Trump, and nobody knows what might happen.
The impact on Canadian travel and on Canadian advisors depends on U.S. actions and the Canadian government’s response, Campbell said, and that’s something agents have little control over.
“What this may create is a situation where Canadians have less disposable income to spend on travel and businesses may be tightening their belts and reconsider business travel,” he said. “There would be an expectation that all travel will decline should the situation continue or progress.”
Campbell also said studies have shown that tariffs could lead to the loss of a million Canadian jobs or more.
ACTA president and CEO Wendy Paradis said her organization is working closely with government bureaucrats in Ottawa and will keep up the fight for Canadian advisors.
She also suggested advisors might want to look at steering clients to Canadian destinations, especially higher-end product, and to consider destinations in other parts of the world.
Campbell said advisors should email him (acampbell@acta.ca) with any information they have about Canadians cancelling U.S. visits. ACTA also wants to know what advisors need in this troubling time, and said they also can push their case with the Canadian and U.S. governments.
Click here for the ACTA Town Hall meeting from 11MAR, 2025.
