BC man takes US trip cancellation a step further by sending messages to governor, tourism board

Curtis Allen and his partner were looking forward to their trip to Oregon this September.

They were planning to drive down from Kelowna, BC, with their dogs and some friends and stay at some campsites along the state’s scenic coast.

However, those plans quickly changed after President Trump announced his plan to tariff Canadian goods coming into the US and repeatedly threatened to annex Canada as the 51st state.

Like many Canadians, Allen decided to cancel his trip and all future travel to the US, but the BC man also went a step further.

The Kelowna resident wrote emails to the Governor of Oregon, the state’s tourism board, as well as an Oregon mayor of the town he was planning to visit to explain why he scrapped his travel plans.

“This is more than just cancelling travel,” Allen told Daily Hive Vancouver.

“What I’m saying is, if you are choosing to take a stand and not visit the United States of America right now because of what is going on in this world, that it’s our duty to tell people why, to let them know we are not choosing to come in this very reason.”

Allen shared the emails he sent to Oregon officials with Daily Hive.

“The President has repeatedly threatened us with tariffs that will hurt our economy and your own, and made serious threats about annexation of our country. As Canadians, we are taking the threats from our southern neighbours incredibly seriously,” wrote Allen in his messages to the governor and tourism board.

“Many of us have stopped buying goods made in America, are cancelling subscriptions to American companies like Netflix and Amazon, and choosing to vacation in our own backyard or other countries instead of visiting yours. I’ve never seen Canadians of every age, political affiliation and geographic location rally together like this before and it makes me proud to be Canadian.”

“Canadians share more than a border. We’ve been your closest ally, even fighting alongside you in wars. We provide you with natural resources and are an incredible trade partner. After such a long and prosperous relationship, I can tell you that we feel betrayed by our southern friends,” he continued.

“We will miss our visit and spending money in your lovely state. As a Canadian, it’s my duty to say ‘Sorry’, but I’m not sure I mean it.”

Encouraging Canadians to do the same

Allen also posted about his decision to tell the US why he cancelled his travel on the British Columbia subreddit channel, where he encouraged his fellow Canadians to do the same.

His post received thousands of likes and hundreds of replies, with many folks applauding him on his decision and saying they would be following suit.

“I was not expecting that response that I got… it was pretty overwhelming, to be honest,” said Allen.

While the Canadian replies to his comments were encouraging, Allen added that he was also pleasantly surprised by the Americans who responded to him.

“What really stood out to me was our friend down south saying ‘Thank you. We support you doing this. We will miss you,'” he said.

While Allen put thought and consideration into the emails he sent the Oregon government and the state’s tourism partners, he didn’t exactly receive thoughtful responses.

“I did get a canned response from the governor’s office a few hours after sending the email. It does not address this in any way, and it was addressed to people living in Oregon,” he told Daily Hive.

The Oregon campsite Allen messaged sent a brief response, apologizing to him for the “inconvenience.”

“Threats of annexation are a bit more than an inconvenience,” noted Allen.

Concerns around BC residents cancelling trips shared by one Pacific Northwest state

Daily Hive reached out to Oregon and Washington State’s tourism boards regarding any concern over BC residents axing their travel plans to the states — only the latter replied before the deadline.

“We want to emphasize that Washington remains a welcoming destination for all travelers from Canada and beyond. Washington State values our strong relationship with Canada, particularly with our neighbors in BC,” said Michelle Thana, spokesperson for Washington State Tourism.

In her response, Thana also linked an article from the US Travel Association (UTA), which warned of major job and economic losses if Trump’s tariffs materialize.

According to the UTA, with 20.4 million visits in 2024, Canadians make up the majority of international visits to the US, generating US$20.5 billion and supporting 140,000 jobs. The top five most popular states Canadians visit are Florida, California, Nevada, New York, and Texas.

“A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses,” stated the association.

Allen is hopeful that adding the explanation of ‘why’ to US trip cancellations can make a small but meaningful impact.

“The hope with telling these people ‘why’ we aren’t coming is that if enough of us do the same thing, the message will not only get through to the individual states but hopefully all the way up the chain to Washington DC,” he said.

“I’m not trying to shame individual states, but instead to hopefully send a message to the President and importantly, his supporters.”