Duty-free shops see business 'falling off the cliff’ as travellers shun U.S.

MONTREAL — A group of duty-free shop owners says sales are plunging as Canadian travellers steer clear of the U.S. amid anger over tariffs and annexation threats.

Frontier Duty Free Association executive director Barbara Barrett says sales are down between 40 and 50 per cent across the country, with more remote crossings reporting declines of up to 80 per cent. She says the mom-and-pop shops, which sell products tax-free ranging from maple cookies to Canadian Club whiskey, were just starting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic when the trade war struck. While duty-free stores at land crossings number fewer than three dozen, Barrett says they can be cornerstones of the local economy in rural areas.



The industry group, whose members do not have the option to pivot to delivery or online sales, is calling on the federal government to offer support in the form of grants or loans to ride out the disruption. Statistics Canada says the number of Canadians returning home by car from the U.S.

fell nearly 32 per cent last month compared to March 2024, the third consecutive month of year-over-year declines. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025. Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press.