Feeling skittish about visiting Vermont’s provincial neighbor to the north because of President Donald Trump’s remarks about annexing Canada as a 51st state? Have you found yourself instinctively apologizing to anyone sporting a red-and-white maple leaf or wearing a Canadiens hockey jersey? Are you ordering more poutine in restaurants as a silent act of international solidarity?
If any of the above apply, the tourism board for Québec’s Eastern Townships has a message for you: “Come hug it out in the Eastern Townships.”
“At a time when global travel feels uncertain and international relations seem complicated, a corner of Canada is reaching out with a simple and heartfelt message: We miss you,” reads a new marketing campaign that launched on Memorial Day, which is considered the official start of the U.S. summer travel season.
The Canadian ad campaign kicked off with a 30-second video that is now airing in New York and New England on Facebook, YouTube and some broadcast television channels. Created by the Montréal agency La Bande and produced by Tourisme Cantons-de-l’Est (aka Tourism Eastern Townships), the ad features a somewhat hesitant American tourist being welcomed to Québec not just in English but with open arms — literally.
“Our American guests are more than tourists, they’re part of our story,” Isabelle Charlebois, general director of Tourism Eastern Townships, explained in a press release. “This ad campaign is our way of saying: we appreciate you and we can’t wait to welcome you again.”
Given the rising political tension between Washington, D.C., and Ottawa, the reciprocal trade tariffs, and growing nationalism, travelers in both countries have been rethinking their international vacation plans, inflicting pain on both sides of the border. As Seven Days reported last week, only 98,000 visitors crossed into Vermont from Canada last month by car, down from 147,000 in April 2024 and just slightly more than the 84,000 who came in April 2022, when COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted.
Summer’s Back, but Canadian Tourists Are Not
Summer’s Back, but Canadian Tourists Are Not
By Derek Brouwer
Tourism
At stake are tens of millions of tourism dollars — and loonies. In March, the number of trips into Canada by U.S. residents declined by 6.6 percent, including an 8.7 percent drop in automobile travel compared with the same month last year, according to Statistics Canada. That decline has been acutely felt in the Eastern Townships. a collection of small, tourism-dependent villages, towns and cities in southeastern Québec.
It need not be like this. Many Vermonters feel a special affinity for our Québécois neighbors. We ski many of the same mountains, eat too much of the same cheese and accept nothing less than real maple syrup.
So, if you’ve been asking yourself, Are Americans even welcome in Canada right now?, you have an answer. To our friends in the Eastern Townships: Merci pour l’invitation. À bientôt!