Tariffs are hurting Canadian tourism in the U.S. But I think we should be honest about the bigger picture.
Canadians aren’t simply staying home because of higher prices caused by tariffs. Many are deliberately choosing not to spend their vacation dollars here because of how Canada has been treated by the Trump administration: the tariffs, threats, repeated talk of making Canada the “51st state,” and the increasingly hostile rhetoric toward a longtime ally.
Canadian travel to the U.S. fell about 25% last year, costing our tourism industry billions of dollars. The decline has continued in 2026 as Canadians choose other destinations. They are spending their money elsewhere.
This should concern Florida especially. Canadians have long been among our most important international visitors. This isn’t simply a tourism problem — it is the economic consequence of alienating people who have traditionally loved coming to America.
If we want Canadian visitors back, lowering tariffs would help. But restoring goodwill and treating Canada as a valued neighbor and ally would help even more.
— Andrea Culberson, Weston
Trump’s self-aggrandizing naming frenzy
It is difficult to comprehend just how deeply into the tank Republican senators are prepared to sink in their spineless, pathetic efforts to glorify Donald Trump. His attempts to name an aircraft carrier after himself instead of the name of a true American military hero are despicable. To name any piece of American military equipment after an individual who benefited from several military deferments is a massive insult to all veterans, in this case specifically to naval veterans. The Black naval hero who was to have been honored by the aircraft carrier was Doris (Dorie) Miller who, while under bombardment at Pearl Harbor, helped wounded sailors to safety and without training, manned an anti-aircraft gun firing on the enemy. Miller was highly praised by top-ranking officers who recommended that the ship should bear his name.
Do Republican senators want to respect and laud a convicted coward or an American hero?
— Fred Greetham, Kissimmee
Employee ownership good for business
Five years ago, I was 19, just starting my bachelor’s degree and got a job in fast food just to pay the bills. A friend recommended I apply to a nationwide engineering firm with operations in Winter Park.
After I landed my first job as a lab tech, I quickly learned the company is owned by its employees — now including me — via an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), a retirement plan that lets companies share ownership with workers.
As we approach Labor Day, I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am to have stumbled upon employee ownership. Many of my friends are hopping between jobs, trying to find that place where they can have a voice and grow. And, there are lots of studies out there that show many in my generation have stopped believing in the promise of the American Dream.
ESOPs could provide more hope, but there are only 201 in Florida. That might sound like a lot, but it represents only about 3.4% of Florida’s workforce. I hope to grow that number through my work with Expanding ESOPs, a coalition of nearly 100 organizations working to dramatically expand employee ownership.
I am at the beginning of my career, but I have a solid foundation thanks to employee ownership. This Labor Day, let’s commit to providing that stability to every worker in America.
— Brenn Cajuste, Winter Park
Brenn Cajuste is laboratory coordinator and employee owner for Terracon in Winter Park.
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