Sen. Jeanne Shaheen used a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing to argue that the Trump administration’s rhetoric toward Canada is directly hurting New Hampshire businesses, pressing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on falling Canadian tourism and the economic cost of turning a top trading partner into a political target.
“How does insulting our closest ally and neighbor help the businesses in my state and states all across this country who are hurting because of the loss of Canadian business and tourism?” she asked Lutnick. He did not dispute the strain on cross-border commerce, but answered with a broader administration view of leverage, saying, “Canada’s economy leans on the incredible $30 trillion economy of America.”
When Shaheen pressed the tourism angle again, saying, “We have all those Canadian visitors who are not coming because of your comments and comments by the administration. How does that help our economy?”
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“It is outrageous that Canada will not put U.S. spirits on the shelf. It is insulting and disrespectful to America,” Lutnick pivoted, to which Shaheen replied “And they won’t do it because of the insults from this president and comments like yours.”
Reports show that the broader US travel market has already felt a sharp pullback from Canada. Through November 2025, foreign travel to the US was down 5.4%, led by 4 million fewer Canadian visits, or a 22% decline from the prior year, as trade tensions and political friction pushed travelers to look elsewhere.
Specifically in New Hampshire which borders Canada to the north, state officials and local reporting have said Canadian travel to New Hampshire is down about 30%, a meaningful hit for a state where tourism is the second-largest revenue-generating industry and supports 70,000 jobs.
Industry data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the US shows exports to Canada fell more than 70% year over year from the start of the retaliatory provincial bans in March through December 2025. The same report said the bans had an outsized effect on 2025 export performance, while Alberta and Saskatchewan were the only provinces that had lifted their bans.
Last year, Canadian provinces had removed US liquor from store shelves as retaliation for Trump tariffs.
The exchange comes ahead of the CUSMA review and broader bilateral trade talks, even as Ottawa has pushed back against US demands and sought to reduce its dependence on the American market.
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