Bellingham residents, already impacted by a drop in travellers from B.C. and other parts of Canada, are reacting to recent comments made by Prime Minister Mark Carney reflecting on Canada’s relationship with the United States.
Bellingham has had a rough go ever since Donald Trump won the last election, and we’ve reported on just how heavily it has impacted tourism and the economy in the Washington State city.
Today, Carney announced tariff countermeasures. Carney said that Canada would match new U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar, as well as introduce $7.5 billion in new and enhanced measures to support Canadian workers and businesses.
A statement from the Department of Finance Canada said that new terms proposed by the U.S. “were not in Canada’s best interest, basically, asking too much of Canada, and offering too little in return.”
Earlier this week, in a statement, Carney said: “We cannot control the storm blowing in,” essentially implying it was moving on from the relationship Canada historically had with the States.
“We can chart a new course by building Canada strong at home and diversifying our trading relationships abroad.”
We’ve seen numbers of travellers from B.C. into Washington plummet to staggering lows over the past couple of years, although there have been some fluctuations in recent months indicating a very slight uptick, according to Cascade Gateway data.
Some Bellingham residents reacted to Carney’s sentiments on Reddit.
“That is not distant politics in Bellingham. Canadians are our neighbors, friends, relatives, customers, and visitors. The Port of Bellingham says our U.S.-Canada ports of entry see up to 38,000 vehicle crossings per day, including Canadian commuters, shoppers, and business travelers,” the original poster said.
They added that “it hurts” that Bellingham’s closest neighbour “has to plan a future around us instead of with us.”
A Canadian responded to the post, saying, “In short, we still visit, but far less. When we do visit, we bring as much as possible from Canada to reduce spending.”
“I think most Canadians will tell you they still feel positively about the American people, but the American government seems bent on harming Canada, and we can’t pretend they can’t,” they added.
Other Canadians agreed with the sentiments that the Redditor shared.
One Redditor reflected on the economic impact, painting a bleak picture.
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u/hamster-transplant from discussionin
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“It is potentially very bad news for certain businesses in Bellingham (and Whatcom County) who had hoped the situation would stabilize,” another Bellinghamster said.
Daily Hive had talked to a business in Blaine at the start of all of the drama between the U.S. and Canada, and even then, business was impacted.
Thankfully, that business still appears to be operating, but other businesses have closed entirely.
The Port of Bellingham acknowledges “deep cultural and economic ties” to B.C.
Bellingham residents still mourning B.C. travellers
Pamela Brick/Shutterstock
In another recent thread on the Bellingham subreddit, Bellinghamsters were reacting to a report that Daily Hive covered about how damaging the drop in tourism between the two regions has been.
While some Bellingham residents are suggesting that Costco and Trader Joe’s locations are still packed, others say that it’s the mom and pop shops that are taking the biggest hits.
Many also stated the Canadian dollar being so bad compared to USD isn’t helping the situation.
“Sumas is dying right now. They are begging people to come up from Bellingham to spend money because their entire local economy was supported by the Canadian dollar,” someone said.
“Eating and drinking in Bellingham is twice as much as Vancouver, a city that has ten times more options in terms of cuisine and much better quality,” someone reflected in response.
“As someone who is a street vendor downtown on Sat, customer traffic has declined about by half since 2024,” said another Bellinghamster.
Someone else simply said, “We miss the good times.”
What B.C. residents are telling us
RoundGlobalMaps/Shutterstock
We put a small callout to our B.C. readers in our recent article on how damaging the drop in travel has been, and what it would take for residents who are no longer travelling across the border to reconsider.
“Visiting again will have to wait till someone other than a MAGA looniebin is at the helm,” one of our readers shared in a comment.
“I’m proud of Canadians for using their economic power to improve the Canadian situation. Investing in our own Canadian products and Canadian businesses creates a stronger Canadian economy. That benefits all of us,” someone else said in the comments.
In an email, one reader told Daily Hive, “I want to go to Trader Joe’s, but I don’t want to be a traitor!”
“I haven’t been since Trump’s second term, and I’ll be extremely hesitant to ever go again. Staying close to home where I feel appreciated,” said another reader in an email.