CLAYTON, New York (WWNY) – Many Canadians are no longer coming into the Thousand Islands to spend the day and shop. New data shows Canadian spending in Jefferson County has dropped more than 60 percent since last year.
A sunny Tuesday to shop in Clayton, but it didn’t always look this way. Rain in May didn’t do businesses any favors.
“Our season normally starts in May. It didn’t start until late June, which is a late start for us,” said Lynette Thayer, owner of The Mason Jar.
Thayer says rainy weather and lack of Canadian visitors since have likely contributed to the store’s 15 percent drop in traffic.
“Unfortunately, this situation is not unusual for us because we went through this during COVID when the border was closed for 19 months,” she said.
Data received by the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council backs up a concern expressed months ago: Canadians aren’t visiting or spending money in the U.S.
“We also look at credit card spending. That’s an easy, measurable thing. We can’t track cash as well, so we look at credit card sales throughout Jefferson County and where those markets are originating from,” said Corey Fram, director of the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council.
According to Fram, since April, Canadian spending is down around 63 percent compared to last year.
Restaurants have also seen a 63 percent drop in Canadian spending this June compared to last June. Retail shops have seen a 70 percent drop.
“It’s not a political statement to say that it’s driven by negative sentiment from rhetoric and stuff that talks about 51st state. 100 percent of Canadians we talk to cite that as a reason for not visiting,” said Fram.
He says there’s another factor: rising exchange rates. He says Canadians just aren’t getting as much bang for their buck here in America.
“Their dollar is weak compared to the U.S. dollar, so there’s just not as much of a financial case to be made for them to visit,” said Fram.
He says talk of tariffs is another factor in what could be bringing numbers down, and he isn’t expecting them to bounce back for a couple of years.
“To be off 60-plus percent in spending year-to-year is significant, and it’s going to have a real effect on us when we look back at 2025,” he said.
While Canadian spending has gone down, U.S. visitor spending has stayed flat, which makes up a bulk of the total spending
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