March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Dollar value, taxes keep Canadians home

MADAWASKA — Canadians — by the hundreds of thousands — are staying home, according to figures from ports of entry along the Maine-New Brunswick border. Day crossings by Canadians into Maine are down by as much as 46 percent over last year at some locations.

The decreased value of the Canadian dollar, dramatic cuts in cigarette and tobacco taxes by provincial governments, decreased gas prices in Canada and hassles at Canadian ports of entry are being blamed for the dramatic decrease in border travel.

Donald Marcotte, acting area port director for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in the St. John Valley, said the business district in Van Buren is getting to be as “it was several years ago. Two more stores are scheduled to close.”

At the Madawaska port of entry, figures show that 221,333 fewer Canadians came through the port during April, May and June compared to the same period in 1993. The figure represents a 28 percent drop in the number of border crossings, which have been steadily declining for nearly 18 months, according to Marcotte.

Marcus Russell, acting area port director at Houlton, said figures there reflected the same decrease in crossings.

David Lumbert, area port director at Calais, said he also has seen decreases in the number of crossings. “The decreased value of the Canadian dollar has raised havoc with everyone,” he said.

The Bank of Nova Scotia had an exchange rate of 39 percent Monday at Edmundston, New Brunswick. For every $100 in American money, buyers were receiving $139 in Canadian money.

Besides their money being drastically devalued when shopping in the U.S., Canadians also are getting hit with an 8 percent Goods and Services Tax and an 11 percent provincial sales tax for American goods declared at the border.

Last February several Canadian provinces, following the lead of the Canadian federal government, dropped their cigarette and tobacco taxes by as much as 50 percent. That cut the price of a 200-cigarette carton from more than $46 to just under $30.

The action was taken to curtail an increase of cigarette and tobacco smuggling from the United States into Canada.

In the past year, Chambers of Commerce along the Maine-New Brunswick border have rallied against increased harassment at the border. Several have asked Maine’s congressional delegation for investigations of harassment at Canadian ports of entry.

Canadian customs officials have denied any increased activity at border entries.

The six ports of entry in Marcotte’s area in northern Maine have seen Canadian day crossings drop from 1,380,862 people in April, May and June 1993 to 989,610 people during the same three months in 1994.

The decrease of Canadians coming into northern Maine for the three months was 391,252 people. Aron Gampel, chief economist for the Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto, said the decrease in the number of Canadians coming to the United States is good for Canada. “Everything is coming up roses this year,” said Gampel.

“During the recession, cross-border shopping was the biggest game in town,” stated Gampel in a press release. “Now, not only are Canadians staying home but Americans are rediscovering Canada as a place to visit, and as a place to shop.”

A Statistics Canada report states that Canadians are staying home because of the weaker dollar, cheaper domestic cigarettes and high U.S. gas prices. The report indicated that, nationally, same-day car trips by Canadians to the U.S. fell to 3.1 million a day, a drop of 30 percent from May 1993 and the lowest level since August 1988.


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