Every July 1, hundreds of people flock to the small Manitoba town of Emerson. By noon, the town’s Main Street is decked out in red and white decor as a parade of maple-leaf-adorned vehicles honk their horns and toss candy to children.
“It's Canada Day, and we are celebrating our country,” said Kristin Opocensky, who grew up in Emerson and now lives just outside of town. “There's a lot of people that grew up here that don't live here, and I've already seen probably 50 people that you only see on Canada Day.”
The town is just north of Pembina, N.D., which is the busiest border crossing in the area. Opocensky said, growing up, the two sides of the border felt like one big community.
“Now, it's very different,” she said. “I actually can't remember the last time I crossed.”
President Donald Trump’s return to office brought with it more tariffs and rhetoric about annexing Canada.
A record-low share of Canadians had a favorable view of the U.S. last year. Meanwhile, fewer have been visiting the U.S., and some border crossings in Minnesota and North Dakota have been hit especially hard. The closest border crossings to Emerson — Pembina, N.D., and Lancaster, Minn. — both saw about a third fewer Canadians come over in personal vehicles last year.
Over the last few months, those trends have begun to reverse, and crossings are up from last year. Even so, fewer Canadians are visiting than in 2024, and many, including Opocensky, still feel frosty about their neighbor to the south. Last month, Trump repeated his comments about making Canada the “51st state” and on Monday the administration announced a new wave of tariffs on Canada.
“We can hold our own, and we don't need to rely on other countries if they're going to wreck our relationships with them,” Opocensky said. “We might as well support ourselves.”
Keeping Loonies local
Since Trump returned to office, “Buy Canadian” campaigns have encouraged people to spend more money at home.
Some in Emerson said it’s not too hard to shift their shopping habits. For example, they used to drive south to shop in the Grand Forks metro area but now instead go north to Winnipeg, about the same distance away.
The impact on Minnesota businesses is “definitely noticeable,” said Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of the state’s tourism promotion agency, Explore Minnesota.
“Shopping during spring break time is very popular at the Mall of America,” she said. “I know last year, they had indicated that their numbers were down from Canadians.”
More than half of Minnesota’s international visitors come from Canada, and that tourism is “critical” to the state’s economy, Bennett McGinty added.
She said the state is focused on advertising to Canadians that they are welcome in Minnesota, despite the president’s rhetoric.
“The hard part is we can't necessarily change national politics. But at the very least, Minnesotans always want to welcome you and want to make you feel like you're part of our community when you come," she said.
For some, especially people who live near the border, their own connections to the U.S. transcend politics.
“For us, we can't help it,” said Tony Lazaruk, who traveled about 30 minutes to attend the Emerson parade with his grandchildren. “We've got family and friends in the U.S. Living this close along the border, it hasn't stopped us or slowed us down.”
And there are some things you can only do south of the border. Curtis Cushnie and his sons spent Canada Day in the U.S.
The Winnipeg family is on a road trip to Nashville to drive through the Smoky Mountains.
Cushnie said he didn't like Trump’s comments about Canada, but it’s not going to stop him from traveling to the U.S.
“We love coming down here, the scenery is nice, the people are nice, so we'll come as much as we can,” he said.
Still, he said, he checks the tag for a maple leaf when he goes shopping.
Upper Midwest Newsroom in a public media collaboration between Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, and Minnesota, made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
