Border crossings between the US and Canada are down some 17% since Trump started bringing in tariffs, according to CBP data.
Canadians car trips to the US are down almost 32% compared to March 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Like many of the towns that dot along the 5,525 mile (8,891 km) border, the economies of Port Huron and Sarnia are linked and in some ways dependent on one another. Port Huron is a manufacturing town of less than 30,000 people with a quaint downtown and lots of retail, offering visitors an enticing opportunity for a day-trip.
On a day where there is little traffic, a Sarnia resident can cross the border and be in Michigan in a matter of minutes.
Many of these towns faced their first test more than five years ago when the Covid-19 pandemic shut crossings down for 19 months and left local economies reeling.
Now, they are seeing a second economic hit due to Trump’s trade war, with many Canadians choosing to “Buy Canadian” – purchase Canadian-made goods – and reducing travel to the US in response to the fraying relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
One place this is being felt is at Sarnia’s Duty Free, the last place you can purchase goods before leaving Canada and entering the US. The shelves of perfume and liquor are fuller and the parking lot is emptier since tariffs tensions began.
Barbara Barett, the executive director of Frontier Duty Free Association, says some of the 32 land-border duty frees in Canada have seen as much as an 80% decrease in sales since Trump’s return to the White House. Most stores have seeing a 50-60% drop in business.
“We’re 100% reliant on the travel across the border,” she says of duty frees. “Our stores are often pillars of these communities; communities depend on them.”