Canadians, stung by Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, balk at US travel

Right on the U.S.-Canadian border, Corey Fram's tourism marketing job has gotten a lot harder of late. Fram is director of the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council, which promotes a nature destination with castles, cruises, hikes and fishing enjoyed by Canadians and Americans. But he says U.S. President Donald Trump's continuous disparagement of Canada is taking a toll. "We have had to switch gears a bit," Fram said from his office near the 1,800 tiny scenic islands that dot the St. Lawrence River framed by New York State and Ontario province. Seeing Canadian and American flags often flying side by side, travelers didn't care what side of the border they were on. Now, with Trump's recent rhetoric, Fram has had to adjust his message. "We've been very careful not to broadcast and demonstrate U.S. assets to Canadian audiences and Canadian assets to U.S. audiences because when we have, we found that has drawn out a lot of negative sentiment," Fram said. Canadians have been stung by Trump's actions and words since he returned to the White House, both around tariffs and suggestions that Canada should be annexed by the United States. The American anthem has been booed at hockey games and some stores are removing U.S. products from their shelves, even before Trump's latest salvo on Tuesday, when he increased tariffs on imported Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%. Travelers are responding with their wallets. New bookings to the United States from Canada have declined about 20% since February 1 compared with the year-ago period, according to Forward Keys, a flight ticketing data firm. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on Tuesday the company has adjusted its capacity due to a big drop in incoming traffic from Canada.<br/>