"No longer be visiting": Metro Vancouverites share tough love to Bellingham amid Trump tariffs
While Bellingham residents may miss BC residents who previously enjoyed crossing the border before US President Donald Trump’s tariff threat against Canada, some locals are sharing tough love for their neighbours down south.
Last week, Daily Hive Vancouver published a story about Americans in Bellingham noticing the lack of friendly faces from BC, and some even took to their local subreddit to express their concern.
But the Metro Vancouverites who responded to the article said they were standing firm on their decision to stop their visits across the border, especially to popular Bellingham destinations like Trader Joe’s and Costco.
“My friends and I stopped our “butter” runs to Costco. We love our sticks of butter but Trump can keep them,” stated one Daily Hive Vancouver reader from Burnaby.
They added that they’ll also be missing their annual visit to the tulip festival in La Conner (a town in Washington State’s Skagit County).
“This we have done for the last 20+ years but again we will stick to BC and go to Abbotsford to see them,” shared the Burnaby resident.
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West Vancouver reader Bernd Schalke told Daily Hive that he’s “a retired Canadian who has enjoyed personal and business travel to the USA since forever.”
“But now I am totally bummed out by their outrageous federal government headed by the Orange Crush. America is no longer a welcoming place for Canadians — they don’t give a rat’s a** about us, so I and my wife will no longer travel down there or buy any of their goods. As for Canada joining the USA, not in a million years.”
He added that the tariff threats and the Trump government’s sentiments about Canada feel like “a sense of betrayal by a formerly trusted friend.”
Sandy Foley of Surrey shared similar sentiments, stating that “literally all” of her friends have made the choice to “NEVER go to the US again” as long as Trump is in power.
“Trump underestimated Canada and I am personally delighted how Canada instantly came together and we are standing strong. We will NEVER be the 51st State. While many of us have US friends they will have to visit us here,” she said.
“My (our) days of supporting their economy are over and I think I speak for us all when I say our sense of pride in being Canadian is palpable.”
Donna of Langley said she has “permanently cancelled the United States.”
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“I will no longer be visiting or buying any products manufactured by them or grown by them I would rather do without. It’s not going to get any better down there. It’s going to get very much worse,” she told Daily Hive.
She added that she feels there should be a “ban [of] all Tesla and Elon Musk products from Canada. His car isn’t great anyhow other companies make better.”
According to the US Travel Association, 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.
But a looming trade war could change that.
“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.
On February 3, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that, after a phone call with Trump, the proposed 25% tariffs would be paused for at least 30 days.
With files from Irish Mae SilvestreÂ