Minot optimistic despite drop in Canadian visitors

The tourism department in Minot, N.D. is reporting a roughly 20 per cent decrease in Canadian tourism at the end of the year that was branded by “elbows up” messaging and anti-United States rhetoric.

Minot definitely saw impacts to tourism compared to a normal year, said Visit Minot executive director Stephanie Schoenrock. The impacts are seen through a variety of data, including border crossings, web traffic, visitation, hotel data and some cellphone metrics that the team tracks.

“It’s probably about what I would have expected,” Schoenrock told the Sun recently. “I would have expected somewhere between a 20 and 30 per cent reduction.”

The tourism director said there is a major reason that Minot was expected to be resilient this year. The city, which is southwest of Brandon, has decades of relationships built with Canadians in the area, and that seems to have played a role in keeping things level, she said.

“I do think that those ties have helped us navigate these new waters,” Schoenrock said. “We have a long-standing relationship with Canadians. Decades. And we haven’t lost sight of that. Politics change, people’s opinions change, everything changes. But, you know, hopefully long-standing relationships can mean something.”

In adjusting to the current climate, the tourism department has changed its advertising a little, she said. The invitation to Canadians has remained, but in a tone that acknowledges what is going on, and respects people’s decision not to come, she said.

Cardale resident Lindsy Arseneau said those relationships are important in North Dakota and beyond. She told the Sun that she and her husband continued with travel plans to the North Dakota State Fair in July, and road-tripped through many states for a week in September.

The most important time to be friendly with neighbours is when relationships are strained, she said. Travelling and spending time with people across the border seemed the most Canadian thing to do this year, she said.

“What are Canadians known for? Loving thy neighbour and being friendly. Especially in Manitoba; it’s on our licence plate,” she said.

The choice to visit the United States was based on her belief that what comes out of Ottawa or Washington need not come between her and her neighbours, she said.

“The ties between our regions run deeper than trade or politics,” Arseaneau said. “They are built on friendships and genuine appreciation.”

While the boycotting message did not change her travel plans, Arseneau said she feels people should do as they want — stay home or travel according to their conscience.

A soccer team manager in Winnipeg, who asked not to be named due to concerns about how her comments may impact her job, told the Sun of cancelling some plans this year.

“In North Dakota, there are a few good kids’ soccer tournaments in the summer that I would have loved going to,” the woman told the Sun. “That being said, we decided to forgo crossing the border and we stayed within the province.”

The team looked for alternatives, and travelled to Westman in the end, she said.

“I did some research and we ended up coming to Brandon and having a friendly game over the summer . Some of our coaches mentioned it was probably the highlight of our year, playing against the Brandon United FC U11 girls.”

The team manager and Arseneau were among dozens that responded online when the Sun asked about travel impacts this year. Most commented online that they went to the U.S. as usual, and some said they chose to opt out.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada, there has been about a 22 per cent decrease in traveller land crossings at the International Peace Garden port of entry, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The drop is seen when comparing data from February to September between 2024 and 2025.

It comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney adopted a slogan of “elbows up” in dealing with the United States and encouraged the sentiment for many Canadians.

Looking back at the year now, tourism director Schoenrock said she saw the most severe impacts early in 2025, but they tapered off and averaged about 20 per cent by the end of the season.

Minot Mayor Mark Jantzer said the reality has turned out to be less frightening than what it seemed earlier in the season.

“I think it’s maybe less dramatic,” he told the Sun. “Back then, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we are never going to see another Canadian down here.’ … It sure hasn’t turned out that way.”

Jantzer said he believes the impact may be less pronounced in Minot than other parts of the country. People in this region seem to be more resistant to political impacts, he said.

“The tariffs, the politics, the words back and fourth, are not as impactful out here on the Great Plains, with our neighbours, as maybe, it sounds like, in the capitals,” he said.

But there have been some noticeable impacts nevertheless. The mayor said Canadians are not using the airport as much as before, and Minot businesses have gone out of their way to appeal to Canadians.

“Individual businesses, I have seen some promotions on exchange rate stuff,” Jantzer said. “Or, ‘Welcome Canadian shoppers,’ that kind of thing. Especially during events like the North Dakota state fair back in July.”

The mayor said that the city itself has not done much specifically to counteract tourism impacts.

Schoenrock said that the tourism department also has not launched any specific campaigns to combat the boycott sentiment in Canada. But the department has made efforts to promote their Canada-specific deals, and changed their messaging to respect what is going on.

“The invitation is open and the desire to see our Canadian friends is absolutely there,” Schoenrock said. “With that said, we respect that it’s not the right time for everybody, and that’s okay.”

Schoenrock, along with other Minot staff, received emails throughout the year from Canadians who boycotted the United States. The former mayor of Minot, Tom Ross, showed the Sun one of the emails he had received in March.

“I am writing with a heavy heart to inform you that … I will no longer visit Minot,” a Canadian woman wrote in the email. “I simply cannot, in good conscience, visit.”

In that case, the relationship did falter — at least as of March. The woman said she cancelled her trip to Minot to protest tariffs. She said she had a relationship with the town that was getting sidelined, a long one including several years of college in Minot and return trips over the years since.

Ross told the Sun it was sad to see.

Janzter, a councillor at the time, said he was optimistic about Minot weathering the storm — and that relationships would prevail.

“There is far more that binds Minot and Brandon, North Dakota and Manitoba, than gives us trouble or forces us apart,” Jantzer said in March. “The relationship between the people, the families, the common interest folks … I don’t think that changes a whole lot.”

Looking back on it today, Jantzer may be right.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com