Minot braces for Canadian boycott

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This article was published 22/03/2025 (208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINOT, N.D. — Mayor Tom Ross opens his laptop. He navigates through his email inbox, double-clicks on a message and turns the screen.

A long paragraph is titled “Regretful cancelling visits to Minot.” The email is addressed the mayor and extends four or five lines.

“To the current mayor of Minot, I hope this message finds you well,” reads the email. “I am writing with a heavy heart to inform you that … I will no longer visit Minot.”

The United States is off-limits, the author wrote, because of the tariff war between Washington and Ottawa. She is boycotting the U.S. due to how the U.S. administration is treating Canada, and regretfully, that means avoiding Minot.

Warm memories, multiple years of college in Minot and return visits to the “Magic City” are being cast to the side, she said.

“I simply cannot, in good conscience, visit.”

Ross pointed to the email on Tuesday in an interview with the Sun. It was an example of how the border city, located 260 kilometres southwest of Brandon, may be impacted by international politics.

For decades, the city of Minot has welcomed Manitobans and Saskatchewanians who look to the south for a small road trip, a getaway. Ross said Canadians have become a part of the tourism and hospitality industry.

“I’ve got Canadian friends that come down to curl,” said Ross. “We get the shoppers. We get the people that want to come down and spend a weekend for fun.”

This stream of visitors has been good for the Minot economy. But this year it is in question as boycotts trend in Canada as a way to fight back against tariffs.

The executive director for the Visit Minot tourism department, Stephanie Schoenrock, told the Sun on Tuesday she has also received boycott messages. The emails have convinced her that impacts will be felt — if tensions don’t die down before the summer.

“I think we’re going to see less Canadians,” said Schoenrock. “Just between the exchange rate and politics.”

The city of Minot draws tourists with features like its Magic City Discovery Center for children, Roosevelt Park Zoo and the different shopping experience offered by the U.S., she said. About 10 per cent of visitors end up being Canucks.

The Prairie region from Regina to Brandon represents a focus for Minot’s tourism market, she said.

The department even offers deals specifically for Canadians to draw them to the city because of the value that it brings.

“Canadians are important to Minot,” said Schoenrock. “Canada is absolutely important to us.”

The visits from up north tend to be made up of about 40 per cent entertainment trips, 40 per cent family getaways and 20 per cent shopping trips, the director estimated.

While politics are beyond the control of the border city of roughly 50,000, the approach will be to continue to welcome people from north of the border. Like the mayor, Schoenrock said the city is just hoping its relationships with Canadians are not broken due to politics at the federal level.

“We’re rolling out the carpet. When the time is right, we’re here.”

The season usually starts the third week of June. So, until then, it’s hard to tell if boycotts will really be felt. But when schools close for the summer and road-tripping season starts, Minot will keep a close eye on its visitor numbers.

Minot council president Mark Jantzer told the Sun he believes the longstanding relationships built between Manitobans and the North Dakota border city will stay intact. The softball and curling tournaments that draw Canadians, he predicts, will continue this year.

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

Jantzer said he’s convinced the community will continue to see Canadians visit due to economics — the city has long been a good option for travellers for that reason — and politics won’t change that.

The same idea was mentioned by the woman who emailed Mayor Ross this month, who wrote, “I sincerely hope the situation improves and Minot continues to thrive as the welcoming, vibrant community it was once to me.

“I have always held your city in the highest regard and have visited many times since I lived there. The city of Minot holds some of my cherished memories.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com