City urged to chase American tourism dollars

As the Canada-U.S. trade war rages on, an agency focused on Winnipeg’s economic growth wants to ensure Americans continue to visit the city.

Economic Development Winnipeg said the number of U.S. resident trips to Canada by automobile fell 7.9 per cent in February from the same month in 2024.

American visits account for 25 per cent of all tourism dollars spent in Winnipeg, EDW told city council’s finance committee last week.

“That sector is critically important. It always has been, but particularly in this moment…. There’s been a slight reduction in visitation from the U.S. We don’t want that to continue,” said Ryan Kuffner, the organization’s president and chief executive officer.

He noted one month of data is too short a period to indicate a trend.

In 2024, a total of 4.4 million tourists from around the world came to Winnipeg and spent about $1.1 billion, supporting restaurants, hotels and events, Natalie Thiesen, vice-president of EDW, told the committee.

Thiesen noted some Americans have called EDW to ask if they would still be welcome to visit Winnipeg this summer.

“We are monitoring very closely (this) sentiment around being welcomed in Canada,” she said.

She said a recent Probe Research survey found 86 per cent of Winnipeggers agreed local residents should continue to warmly welcome American visitors to the city despite tensions over the ongoing trade war.

Of the 600 Winnipeggers asked between March 4 and 16, 54 per cent strongly agreed with that statement and 32 per cent agreed somewhat.

EDW urged the city to support tourism to ensure the sector has enough resources to compete with other Canadian cities and provinces, which are facing some of the same economic challenges.

The head of the Manitoba Hotel Association said there may have been a slight dip in U.S. visitors, but that could be due to several factors affecting travel across North America.

“With economic uncertainty, maybe people are pulling back a little bit on their trips or maybe they’re doing one night instead of two. We’re coming up on a couple years of higher-than-usual inflation… that might be impacting consumers,” said Michael Juce, the association’s president.

Juce said peak leisure travel periods will start soon, which will give a better indication of any travel trend.

Traditionally, U.S. visitors tend to stay longer in Manitoba and spend more money when they visit than other tourists, which heightens their economic impact, he said.

“We still want to welcome them up here to friendly Manitoba,” he said.

Amanda Gaudes, a spokesperson for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, said most visits by American tourists occur during the summer months.

In a statement, Gaudes said the museum is expecting “strong visitation from Canadians exploring new destinations.”

Coun. Jeff Browaty, city council’s finance chairman, said he’s hopeful that individual Canadians and Americans can see past political divides.

“Our relationship has been so strong for so long,” said Browaty.

The North Kildonan councillor said he believes some products in Canada now cost less than they do in the U.S., which could help attract Americans.

“The United States are going to be heavily tariffed, maybe there’s an opportunity to bring back some (products) under their personal exemptions (on) a weekend trip up to Winnipeg,” he said.

Meanwhile, the city estimates tariffs and counter-tariffs could raise the city’s annual capital spending by about 2.1 to 2.4 per cent, if the levies remain at the current rates.

A 2.3 per cent increase would cost the city $11.5 million more per $500 million of capital spending, said Paul Beckta, a senior city economist.

“It’s certainly a concern and we’re going to have to watch (that) closely,” said Browaty.

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EDW also urged the city to buy local, as much as possible.

“When the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba can directly support local procurement and provide that company that’s been blocked, ostensibly, out of the U.S. market with a long-term contract, that can be a lifeline to a small company,” said Kuffner.

Browaty said the city will shop local for as many goods and services as possible.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.