Sixty per cent of Port Huron business came from Sarnia-Lambton; today, it’s just 10

Cathy Dobson/Local Journalism Initiative

Port Huron business and tourism reps were in Point Edward Tuesday, attempting damage control a day after American President Donald Trump threatened a new round of tariffs.

“The majority of folks in Port Huron are thankful when (Canadians) are there,” said Michael Hensley, executive director of the Thumbcoast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“There’s nobody targeting Ontario license plates and doing nefarious things to those vehicles; we’re just so excited you are here to spend time in our area.”

Prior to the pandemic, 60 per cent of Port Huron’s retail and restaurant business could be attributed to Canadian shoppers, said Jorja Baldwin, president and CEO of the Bluewater Area Chamber.

The border shutdown and growth in online shopping drove Canadian shoppers away in 2020. Small business was only beginning to recover when Trump was elected president for the second time and began talking about Canada becoming the 51st state.

Canadian “elbows up” attitudes have brought cross-border shopping to a trickle, likely no more than 10 per cent of Port Huron’s retail market now, according to Baldwin.

“Retail in Port Huron is really, really struggling,” she said. “The economic relationship (between Michigan and Ontario) has been decimated.

“I hope it can be righted.”

Baldwin was one of four panelists asked to speak about cross-border relations at a Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce Business Summit.

About 70 business leaders gathered at the Four Point by Sheraton in Point Edward and spent at least part of their day talking about how the American/Canadian relationship can be repaired so that both cross the Blue Water Bridge more frequently for shopping, dining and special events.

Baldwin called Trump’s tariffs – the latest of which were announced Monday – short-sighted. “The unintended consequences are being ignored. When you hear these policies, no one (in Washington) is thinking about what it’s doing to the small businesses out there.”

The number of Canadians crossing the Blue Water Bridge in passenger vehicles backs up Baldwin’s take on what’s happening to Port Huron retail.

Car traffic was starting to rebound after the pandemic and was about 75 to 78 per cent of what it had been prior to the pandemic when Trump took office, according to Blue Water Bridge director Joe Dedecker.

But since Trump was re-elected, Canadian traffic dropped to about 60 per cent of what it had been prior to 2019.

This spring has seen car traffic rise year-over-year by about 10 to 15 per cent, said Dedecker.

“But it changes daily, depending on the rhetoric. It’s a border. We can’t really predict what (Trump’s) latest remarks will do,” he said.

Dedecker said he was surprised to see the uptick in car traffic this spring. “Sometimes there’s no clear reason. Maybe people are becoming a little jaded.”

As for Americans coming to Canada to shop, those numbers took a big dive after 9-11 and have never recovered, said Dedecker. “I think it’s because passports became necessary and not a lot of Americans have passports.”

Meanwhile, bridge tolls continue to rise and could play a role, said Hensley. It costs Canadians $7 to use the Blue Water Bridge to enter the U.S., although a prepaid pass reduces the cost substantially. Americans entering Canada pay $5.

Hensley said he’d like to see a cross-border initiative that eliminates bridge tolls if travellers stay in Port Huron or Sarnia-Lambton hotels.

Some kind of joint promotion that gives cross-border travellers discounts and rewards would encourage more commerce between the countries, said April Davies, general manager at the Gateway Casino in Point Edward.

About 20 per cent of the casino’s customers were American prior to the pandemic. That plunged in recent years but has rebounded slightly this year.

Each of the panelists talked about repairing the relationship between the two communities with new Can-Am events and promotions. Baldwin drew a laugh from the audience when she described the relationship between Sarnia-Lambton and Port Huron residents.

“I think we’re like cousins,” she said. “We stick together even when our parents aren’t getting along.”