At the Vermont ski resort Jay Peak, the thrill of the slopes meets uncertainty. As Trump's new tariffs cast a shadow over cross-border trade, the economic ripple effects could hit both sides.Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
Nathan Blackburn says the recent push to Buy Canadian in the face of economic threats from the United States hasn’t changed his spending habits much, though he plans to cut back on American travel.
And yet this past weekend, Mr. Blackburn and his girlfriend, Liana Dalati, were at Jay Peak, a popular ski resort and indoor water park in Vermont’s Green Mountains. They had bought lift tickets months ago, he explained, so they made the drive from Ottawa for the weekend, choosing to stay at a hotel on the Canadian side of the border.
Nathan Blackburn and his girlfriend, Liana Dalati, don't plan to return to Jay Peak ski resort amid U.S. tariff threats.Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
They don’t plan on coming back.
“Obviously, we’re not excited about all that,” Mr. Blackburn said of the tariffs as he put on his gear outside his car. “Probably wouldn’t be here if we didn’t buy lift tickets prior to Christmas and all the different tariff threats.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian goods, which could come into effect as early as Tuesday, have threatened the relationship between the two countries in all sorts of ways, including the cross-border travel that brings a steady stream of Canadian visitors to Jay Peak and other resorts in the region every winter. Thousands of Canadian skiers and bathers make the trip to Jay Peak every winter, taking advantage of chairlift tickets sold at par in Canadian dollars.
Jay Peak general manager Steve Wright published an open letter last month, writing about Jay Peak’s shared history with its “Canadian family” while noting that it was once owned by Quebec-based Mont Saint-Sauveur International. The letter avoided wading into the politics of tariffs.
Thousands of Canadian skiers and bathers make the trip to Jay Peak every winter, taking advantage of chairlift tickets sold at par in Canadian dollars.Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
The resort, which is less than 10 kilometres south of the border, has not yet seen any major impact on its business from the tariff threats, according to Kim Hewitt, its director of marketing and sales.
On Saturday, the morning snow report welcomed “another comfortable day ahead.” It was cloudy, with temperatures close to zero. Light snowfall over the past 24 hours brought the station to a season total of 370 inches – 9.4 metres – of powder, about double what Quebec ski resort Mount Sutton has had just 20 kilometres north. “Not too shabby,” the report said.
Duncan Maclean believes the tariffs are 'a terrible idea.'Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
The pleasant conditions made for a busy day at the resort, where visitors’ reactions to a looming North American trade war ranged from outrage to indifference.
“The tariffs are a terrible idea,” said Duncan Maclean, who came from Massachusetts for a hockey tournament. “We’re trying to bully our way through problems that aren’t existing.”
Meghan Dever, a University of Vermont student who came skiing with friends, agreed. “I don’t think you should do that to people that help you, I think that you should be good to your neighbours,” she said. Ms. Dever also worried that the tariffs could cause further inflation. “It’s really hard, as college students, to afford things as it is right now, and it’s only going up.”
But Lucas Archambault, who came from Laval, Que., to do ski touring on the mountain, said he was unlikely to try to avoid U.S. goods and services. A lot of people wring their hands about the matter, he said, “then the next day they’ll go to McDonald’s.”
Nora Thomas, 22, Brady Miller, 22, Meghan Dever, 21, at the Jay Peak ski resort cafeteria. Dever is worried that the tariffs could cause further inflation.Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
Dehua and Zeng Lee, a couple of Chinese immigrants now living in South Burlington, Vt., who came to ski with their son, said they were unsure of what to think. Other countries can retaliate, Mr. Lee said, and many other factors can drive inflation.
Eero Hedefine, a civil engineer from Maine, preferred not to get involved. “I think the whole thing is a mess,” he said as he dressed up to go skiing. “I just think God’s kingdom is the solution,” he added, explaining that, according to his understanding of the Bible, God would soon replace all human governments to establish his “kingdom on Earth.”
Ms. Hewitt said the resort saw some cancellations from Canadians as soon as Mr. Trump started making tariff announcements.
“But it was really the exception, not the rule,” she said. “We haven’t seen a decline in visitation.”
In fact, Ms. Hewitt said, Jay Peak lodgings have seen more bookings for the Quebec break week, which starts Monday for most institutions, and the Ontario break week, which immediately follows, than at the same time last year.
Skiers rest by the fire at the bottom of the slopes.Alexis Aubin/The Globe and Mail
Canadian visitors make up about 30 per cent of Jay Peak guests, or 200,000 visits annually, she said. And because their holiday schedule differs from that in the U.S., they come in at key periods when other resorts farther from the border might see smaller crowds.
“Their visitation is obviously super important to us and we try to do whatever we can to make it as easy as possible for them to visit,” Ms. Hewitt said. “We’re always worried that our Canadian guests can’t visit us, we certainly felt it when we were in COVID and the border restrictions kept everyone away.”
She does not think that tariffs, even if they do take effect, will drastically affect Canadian visits.
“We might see a light drop, but currently there is no indication that people are going to slow down,” Ms. Hewitt said. “But who knows, right? There’s always something new coming through the news cycle.”