{"id":60318,"date":"2025-05-30T15:12:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/05\/30\/fishing-draws-americans-to-canada-despite-trumps-trade-war\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:12:42","slug":"fishing-draws-americans-to-canada-despite-trumps-trade-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/05\/30\/fishing-draws-americans-to-canada-despite-trumps-trade-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Fishing draws Americans to Canada despite Trump&#8217;s trade war"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<header aria-label=\"Beginning of Article\" class=\"article-header article-header--feature\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\" data-aqa=\"nav-breadcrumb\">\n<p>Breadcrumb Trail Links<\/p>\n<ol class=\"breadcrumbs__items list-unstyled\">\n<li class=\"breadcrumbs__item\">News<\/li>\n<li class=\"breadcrumbs__item\">Economy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"article-header__detail\">\n<div class=\"article-header__detail__texts\">\n<p class=\"article-subtitle\">Every year hundreds of thousands of Americans migrate north for the fishing and the friendship, creating bonds not even politics can put asunder. Here are their stories<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<p><span class=\"published-date__since\">Published May 30, 2025<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 <span class=\"updated-date__since\">Last updated 6\u00a0hours ago<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 <span class=\"published-date__word-count\">13 minute read<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta__bottom\">\n<div class=\"bookmark-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"popover\" data-aqa=\"popover\" data-click-to-appear=\"True\" data-container=\"\" data-container-offset=\"\" data-no-style=\"\" data-popover-component=\"\" data-position=\"top\" data-sticky=\"\" data-tail-offset=\"200\" data-tail-position=\"right\"><button class=\"popover__trigger bookmark-button\"><span class=\"save-article-button save-article-button--default\" title=\"Save article\" data-article-id=\"2b41f868-347f-4b73-bbab-bada738883f4\" data-evt-skip-click=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<div aria-describedby=\"popover-desc-popover-bookmark\" class=\"popover__content\" hidden=\"\" role=\"dialog\">\n<div class=\"popover__content__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"popover__content__text\" id=\"popover-desc-popover-bookmark\">\n<div class=\"bookmark__popover__content\">\n<p>You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"popover__content__close\" data-evt-skip-click=\"true\" title=\"Close\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" class=\"icon--close\" height=\"12\" version=\"1.1\" width=\"12\"><polygon points=\"12 0.95 11.05 0 6 5.05 0.95 0 0 0.95 5.05 6 0 11.05 0.95 12 6 6.95 11.05 12 12 11.05 6.95 6\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"featured-image\" data-aqa=\"featured-image\"><picture class=\"featured-image__ratio\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;h=675&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=rCQLz4y78i_WYgQ38U116w,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;h=1350&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=jE1jYTpHfOxztKoZZcmR7g 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;h=675&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=K2xsiMJsMds9wjLBvcZ3KQ,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;h=1350&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=RwPIj9t_x7bcUnURdkdWjw 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;h=432&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=B3NSx9Ick22PzhzbbWykdg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;h=864&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=ON6cGTfWsGpwmy1tzQdUOg 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;h=432&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=g-F4gfpm7VNlp04QXOkRrQ,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;h=864&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=wNQh9mZJuAwpIAJIn4XVVg 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;h=563&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=EIeBXsjbv5yZ7foJ1U5oyg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers-0529-ph.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;h=1125&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=ZO14gdIvzXVFI9H4XCa4sQ 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"featured-image__caption image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Sunrise on Birch Lake in northern Ontario.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Gary Pullen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<h2 class=\"visually-hidden\">Article content<\/h2>\n<p>Gary Pullen swore that he would retire from farming when he turned 75, so he sold off all his farm equipment to uphold his pledge, thereby freeing up the now-77-year-old to do other things, such as talk about fishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>As a farm kid growing up north of Peoria in Illinois corn country, he often fished in the creeks when his father didn\u2019t have him doing chores. But it was after the sun went down and he tucked into the latest issue of Sports Afield magazine that his childhood imagination was fired by depictions of a fishing paradise to the north penned by Jason Lucas, a pipe-smoking, failed Anglo-Irish novelist who was posthumously remembered as a \u201cbass fishing evangelist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_2\">\n<section aria-describedby=\"advertisment1926944044097401683683823891513344\" class=\"ad\">\n<p>Advertisement 2<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\" id=\"ad__inner-2\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner__container\" data-ad=\"[[6,6],[1200,250],[1200,90],[970,90],[970,250],[728,90],[300,250]]\" data-ad-interscroller=\"6x6\" data-ad-loc=\"2\" data-ad-mobile=\"[[6,6],[320,50],[300,50],[300,250],[300,600]]\" data-aqa=\"advertisement\" id=\"ad-2\" style=\"--desktopHeight:250px;--mobileHeight:600px\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad__placeholder\">\n<p>This 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class=\"identity-divider__line\"\/><span class=\"identity-divider__text\">or<\/span><span class=\"identity-divider__line\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"identity-footer identity-screen__content m-x-0 p-x-0 col-sm-6 col-md-12\"\/><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"article-content--column\">\n<p>Going fishing is a better deal than going on a cruise. Canada is my happy place<\/p>\n<p>American angler Gary Pullen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lucas has been dead for 50 years, but his sermonizing back then made Pullen a convert about bass as well as other fish, too. So much so that he embarked upon his first trip to northwestern Ontario in 1990 to search for walleye, a large-mouthed, sharp-toothed, pearly eyed creature prized for its tastiness when freshly pan-fried with a dollop of butter.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"js-widget-content article-content__widget-group article-content__widget-group--content-slot11 article-content__widget-group--newsletter-slot\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-widget__new-story-page fp-headlinenews background--primary-light-gradient\" aria-labelledby=\"FinancialPostTopStories9150304396823237633971855959261184\" data-account-id=\"b9d3df2fccd108b5eff3c44f573b2cd6\" data-aqa=\"widget-newsletter\" data-newsletter=\"single\" data-newsletter-component=\"\" data-target-list=\"FP_HeadlineNews\" data-widget=\"newsletter\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-new-story-page-template\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__header__new-story-page\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__banner__new-story-page\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Top Stories\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/18.7.2\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-fp-topStories.svg\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Top Stories<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page\">Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__body__new-story-page\">\n<div class=\"js-replace-main__new-story-page\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__disclaimer__new-story-page text-size--tiny\">By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"js-submit-success\" hidden=\"\" id=\"submitSuccessFP_HeadlineNews\">\n<p>Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page\">A welcome email is on its way. If you don&#8217;t see it, please check your junk folder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page newsletter__feedback--last\">The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page js-submit-error\" style=\"margin-top: 8px\" hidden=\"\" id=\"submitErrorFP_HeadlineNews\">We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Pullen has trip No. 78 to Canada booked for the end of June, and he plans to keep coming back for as long as he stays healthy, is able to drive and can convince his wife or enough buddies who aren\u2019t suffering from this-or-that ailment to make the trek to a part of Ontario where the walleye outnumber the people by a sizable margin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing fishing is a better deal than going on a cruise,\u201d he said. \u201cCanada is my happy place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">It is arguably the walleye \u2014 along with the wilderness, friendships and peace and quiet \u2014 that continues to lure many Americans north despite Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs, his comments about Canada being the 51st state annoying the locals and Canadians cancelling or not planning any trips to the U.S. anytime soon.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--full_page\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=vVxHc6IpCF25LDpp5FvGCA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=H6IqyWH-77Ovy0Yv9lET0Q 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=Qgpl-9fF8bVzqqcJmQ_9ug,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=aaAxE7RysL10oZ4XhqoEmg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=0jJO9YS_tQto5lz4_DIwYg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=GlULFIq4MqV3t-5KIcgEhw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=17VkF-leHmxRSLS7zmkRDA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=wKh1QLjkTpvpV335fi54Zw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=xl3OFQ3KlY_Qy1l2qfNBXA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Yf7VYUPQ7tMLuOCkVbvj4A 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"American angler at Lake Savant.\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=jlhHu7CUxlcHH_woZH_JwQ\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=jlhHu7CUxlcHH_woZH_JwQ,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=JF6mHvwwlO4dzYUgzMBLFg 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-0530-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=vZ5KOg5ryKXGUKXWBfYcAQ\" height=\"1350\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">An angler at Wildewood Lodge on Lake Savant in Ontario holds up a northern pike. The bulk of guests to the lodge are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Andy Kerecman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They arrive in a great caravan of pickup trucks that appears around the Memorial Day weekend in May and gradually peters out in September, according to Drake Dill, the mayor of International Falls, Minn.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepending on where these tariffs will or won\u2019t be, or could or couldn\u2019t be, it is all a guessing game, but if Canadians are going to be disincentivized to come and visit us, then they\u2019re not going to come and visit,\u201d he said. \u201cI would say likewise for Americans going the other way, but the one thing that Canada has an abundance of that Americans really, really enjoy is walleye.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Canadians certainly aren\u2019t going to turn away their American neighbours; they want our fish, we need their business.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">\u201cRecreational fishing is a time-honoured tradition and significant economic driver in Ontario, especially for our northern and remote communities,\u201d Ontario Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris said. \u201cWe encourage everyone from Ontario, and beyond, to enjoy Ontario\u2019s world-class recreational fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His ministry undertakes an extensive survey every five years to assess the economic benefits and social importance of recreational fishing on the province\u2019s 250,000 inland lakes. The 2025 survey has yet to occur and the 2020 survey did not happen due to COVID-19, so the most substantive block of data is from 2015.<\/p>\n<p>That survey\u2019s topline findings were that 321,684 non-resident anglers, the bulk of whom were American, fished in Ontario waters that year and shelled out about $250 million on accommodation, food and fishing supplies while doing so.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Ninety per cent of the American fisherfolk were male and they averaged 60 years of age. Half said they came to Canada in search of the ubiquitous and delectable walleye, and 80 per cent said they would not have come north were it not for the fishing.<\/p>\n<p>Data from 2024 indicates that 312,092 non-resident, mostly American anglers visited Ontario, so the fish are clearly still biting.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--full_width\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=I8fi0ZvZVSYwOhwlvdzdjA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=YSHg71fF0tlutnbE_rwmlA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=GAmKRxx6DDd3iZCjrhEskA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=2twVoIYEKg2xCNKQk_91pA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=32_I9eFOmuJP8O7hry6VLg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Z3AeOW8lQ-wp-xTw24RATA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=CQVTL4rTDD0Hy3avwkEwcA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=95lM5uEpPoe0jOJjcyW5hA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=tQaK8DGX-Dr3FB-gU1RD4Q,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=faD0E9LItpG-7MYflrb6rQ 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gary Pullen, a retired Illinois corn and soybean farmer, poses with a bunch of buddies at Wildewood on Lake Savant, an American owned fishing lodge that caters to mostly American clients in northwestern Ontario. Gary is fourth from the left.\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=DNkkrzbTRWqnxa1rPII8_Q\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=DNkkrzbTRWqnxa1rPII8_Q,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=JSPd2cSNBcjLa8DnJMIp-Q 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/anglers2-0929-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=WGWP8lZs8iJfl4q-cqfu6w\" height=\"691\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Gary Pullen, a retired Illinois corn and soybean farmer, poses with a bunch of buddies at Wildewood on Lake Savant, an American-owned fishing lodge that caters to mostly American clients in northwestern Ontario. Gary is fourth from the left.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Gary Pullen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Americans catching them are spending more than they did a decade ago to stay in lodges that advertise \u201cAmerican Plan\u201d packages priced exclusively in greenbacks that include all meals, a motorized boat, gas, a fish finder, access to fishing guides, live bait and a roof over their head for about US$2,000 per person per week \u2014 all within a few hours drive of the border crossing between Fort Frances, Ont., and International Falls.<\/p>\n<p>Walleye season opened mid-May, so it is still early fishing days yet, but outfitters on this side of the border say Americans are still coming north and are often calling ahead to make sure that they are welcome and to ask whether anything has changed at the border.<\/p>\n<p>The total number of American tourists \u2014 anglers and otherwise \u2014 making the trek to northwestern Ontario has yet to fully rebound to pre-pandemic numbers, but the overall number of Americans coming to Canada was down 10 per cent in March from February.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>The real \u201cmeaningful numbers\u201d in fishing country, however, come from May to September, Gerry Cariou, executive director of the Sunset Country Travel Association, said.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">The number of Canadian border crossings by car into the U.S. decreased 32 per cent in March alone, according to Statistics Canada, a sharp drop that has the U.S. Travel Association sounding alarm bells that it could put 140,000 jobs at risk and result in US$6 billion in American tourism industry-related losses by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--column\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=KxvtODht_WnIxMILQdCdaw,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=OWrlhzSvL8ruW6sQhyI-Ig 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=0Ha6fdtNTMNb2oxZlWrEiA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=TZBvzd3bIP9BO31K2PRBXA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=sC-GGu-mld7Kb0u2Z5pf3g,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=4xjfSc6fZpEsy0iPr-09kw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=3avu6L4ySWQic57sgGW99Q,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=p-_AhFzYBjtnND6kv2mpkg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=iHh7rwgVqmLs20lGujd5Mg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=RLLh4Q9lIsbemZg15xhM9g 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Canadians staying away from U.S.\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=0qBvWlOODa0UNpPKjpshig\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=0qBvWlOODa0UNpPKjpshig,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=8lHva5iDoQuE24ycbAyY8A 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fp0530-canadiansStayingAwayFromUS-BH-W.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=mznRiK2cfqM4exjmqOx6LA\" height=\"1205\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\n<h2>Tradition dies hard<\/h2>\n<p>Getting together with a bunch of pals who have known one another forever and relish retelling the same old stories and perhaps generating a few new ones is a cherished rite among American anglers, and the enduring narrative behind the fishing buddy trip to Canada has a history stretching back 100-plus years.<\/p>\n<p>The trips are a key economic driver in an area of Ontario that has been battered by two decades\u2019 worth of pulp and paper mill closures in single-industry small towns, including Fort Frances, which lost its mill more than a decade ago and the 200-plus unionized jobs that came with it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been struggling to reinvent ourselves ever since, and tourism is a big part of that reinvention,\u201d Andrew Hallikas, the mayor of Fort Frances, said. \u201cWe depend heavily on Americans coming up here to fish and hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Dill in International Falls can speak firsthand to Canada\u2019s attractiveness among Americans as the former owner of a Canadian fly-in fishing operation he ran with his parents. The base camp was Armstrong, Ont., northwest of Lake Nipigon, and scattered beyond it was a collection of cabins the family owned on lakes without road access.<\/p>\n<p>He earned his commercial pilot\u2019s licence at 18 and he would deliver clients, 90 per cent of whom were American, dockside in a single-engine, Canadian-made de Havilland Otter. His personal favourite fishing ground was north of the Albany River.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was fortunate because it is a part of Canada most people never get to see,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are plenty of walleye and pike, but the big secret up there is the brook trout.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"article-content--column\">\n<p>The people of International Falls are our friends and that&#8217;s not going to change, regardless of what comes out of Trump&#8217;s mouth<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Hallikas, the mayor of Fort Frances, Ont.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Dill sold the family business six years ago after his father, a Minnesota state legislator, passed away, and this past November he did what he swore he would never do and ran for mayor of International Falls and wound up winning the election by a landslide.<\/p>\n<p>His entry into politics has led to a friendship with Hallikas, whose family has lived in \u201cThe Fort\u201d for three generations. He is known around town among residents of a certain age for being the retired physics teacher who actually made physics fun for his students.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>There is a 40-year age gap between the two politicians, but when the 75-year-old Canadian sits down with the 35-year-old American to talk about the differences between their border towns, which are tethered together by a 100-year-old-plus, 300-metre-long bridge spanning the Rainy River, the only difference they reliably come up with is that their towns happen to be in two different countries.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--column\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=iGoYZ0aJG6yosd5kWriLlQ,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=L0QvbN1ztR26MbAoygJalg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=OxnXLGPjMm2MhrnZBg7OYg,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=l8HPyJkmEazxQJTxwa0R9A 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=5Mg6ijF2OaBDJDpIhI3AXQ,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=fQQvsqlFbmUL1dwRk-y0vg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=8E7P5jNpVS4B0TeKwwif1g,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=WgdV9AFh-8OPqY4NJt95hw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=NYfiSUNYMSix-XJmOXcjUg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=PYfww78wadYhquqyG79M_A 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The \u201cPull for Peace\u201d trophy. The friendly annual tug of war between the border communities of Fort Frances, Ont., and International Falls, Minn., that span the Rainy River was unfortunately suspended due to some serious cases of rope burn.\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=vzHR0Ytj4CQK4a9dCj9K9Q\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=vzHR0Ytj4CQK4a9dCj9K9Q,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=89jHaWdSYcx1fIzMgttT8g 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/trophy-0530-ph.jpg?location=column&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=47OIj-u6JdbAfqWuKREyZA\" height=\"1001\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">The \u201cPull for Peace\u201d trophy. The friendly annual tug of war between the border communities of Fort Frances, Ont., and International Falls, Minn., that span the Rainy River was unfortunately suspended due to some serious cases of rope burn.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Andrew Hallikas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Otherwise, their most pressing mutual concerns pre-Trump were not dissimilar from a lot of other North American small towns, chiefly, how to stimulate economic development, pay for infrastructure, provide new housing stock, stem population losses and convince more newcomers to move to The Fort and The Falls.<\/p>\n<p>Notwithstanding these major challenges, the towns, which have a combined population of roughly 13,000, have always possessed a superpower in comparison, say, to some isolated burgh in the middle of Manitoba, which is their cross-border relationship.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a kid in Fort Frances who wants to play baseball can sign up in International Falls since there is no Little League on the Canadian side of the bridge. Aspiring young soccer players in International Falls play their community soccer in Fort Frances. The two local high schools share a fierce hockey rivalry, and prior to an unfortunate incident involving some bad cases of rope burn, the neighbours held a friendly annual international tug of war known as the Pull for Peace.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people of International Falls are our friends and that\u2019s not going to change, regardless of what comes out of Trump\u2019s mouth,\u201d Hallikas said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been friends for over 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But what has been tugging at Canadians since Trump\u2019s election is how to express their displeasure with the president without damaging relationships with their neighbours on the other side of the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of The Fort have historically popped over to The Falls to gas up their cars and pick up groceries, while Americans head the other way for the walleye and Thursday night wing night at La Place Rendez-Vous, a family owned resort\/restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah Noonan, the resort\u2019s owner and a former student of the mayor, has three kids who participate in extracurriculars in International Falls. Like many Canadians, she is ticked off at Trump, and she said that while she has not stopped going to the U.S. for her children\u2019s activities, she has become more \u201cintentional\u201d in her spending while there.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of grabbing lunch, getting gas and throwing a few bags of groceries in the trunk, she cheers on the Little Leaguers and then heads straight home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have to navigate the issue sensitively and look at it through our own business\u2019s lens, but I also need to look at it personally, and sometimes those two viewpoints are going to be in conflict,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--half_width_left\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=naWigqXYAKFdVhgGN9cbYg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=YEptjZnjsz1_VethsMP4vA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=JJyGe0me5uyym6bYIKmzcA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=a0G1Nx0P640A6KSnPHiiog 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Nwtz-p5Q8rhYtWS_dVlnvA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=NhHQf-cfkpLd4HZFPbE5Xw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=8IhMouHF9H8pAgLsyOSICA,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=5D-bOhFo7pl621P2ajZGuQ 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=YX6oM4xtCwqOnVIrblb1Lg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=mflS2vBG64mD1U3d9y3y9Q 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mark Scheipeter\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=XA0n1av4j9kcl9jbrIATXw\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=XA0n1av4j9kcl9jbrIATXw,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=hsU4IIoRgatRNz-YAczzhg 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing2-0530-ph.jpg?location=half_width_left&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=E7J7_Tc5lYguNF6dYRkFKQ\" height=\"1012\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">St. Louis resident Mark Scheipeter drives 16 hours straight to get from his home to a lodge near Atikokan, Ont. \u201cWhen you go fishing, you are in nature, and you are in the moment,\u201d he said.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Mark Scheipeter<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But there was no discernible trace of inner turmoil gnawing at Mark Scheipeter\u2019s conscience as he spoke of his upcoming fishing trip to Ontario. The longtime custom homebuilder in St. Louis, who wound down his own business last summer and now works for a few other outfits, spent a good chunk of his adult life dreaming about going north.<\/p>\n<p>He was always too busy working and too strapped for cash raising kids to splurge on the adventure, at least until a few years ago. This July will mark his third trip to Canada and with the kids no longer \u201con the payroll\u201d and dear old dad no longer working 65 hours a week, he plans on a lengthy streak of visits.<\/p>\n<p>Scheipeter said he does not pay much attention to politics since life is stressful enough as is, but said Trump\u2019s great contribution to society has been to provide the late-night \u201ccomedians\u201d with a steady stream of fresh material.<\/p>\n<p>The trucker\u2019s son loves to drive and he will do the 16.5-hour slog to a lodge near Atikokan, Ont., in a straight shot running up U.S. Highway 53 to the border crossing at International Falls. He also fishes closer to home, but a crowded fishing hole in the middle of Missouri is not the same as being in the middle of a Canadian nowhere.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"article-content--column\">\n<p>You guys love your hockey. You guys love your fishing. You guys put up with some pretty crazy weather, and I love going north to be a part of it all<\/p>\n<p>American angler Mark Scheipeter<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWith fishing, you are in the moment, and it is so hard to live life these days in the moment because everything is about social media and what you know, what you are going to do next and how you measure up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when you go fishing, you are in nature, and you are in the moment, and there\u2019s just something about being in the moment in Canada. You guys love your hockey. You guys love your fishing. You guys put up with some pretty crazy weather, and I love going north to be a part of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, he is not overly fussed by Canadians cutting back on trips to the U.S., nor is he planning any retaliatory measures, not when there is walleye for the taking.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--full_page\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=xsW-C5OorfebfKvhZjuruw,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=aARUdZt5Ms_05Elbi1tdeA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=3h0t6_95GDDa2dRrv_iyfg,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=IEpQ0tso46-t7FSv75pmgA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=FIbIx140QWOpstZe0_aQRA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=16Okc6Wbab6bf6YWgAfpTw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=bJRfIlP1Phn1-iTImqqHTg,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=IOmG-YNTTm5yBdS_WGMlUg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Di4bCD02yDZqk8PqCsjBvg,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Zy9cQUjRhYBC7T3rgMkyWA 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"An aerial view of Wildewood on Lake Savant.\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=DRcRmUhi02RDk5r9pmWRTw\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=DRcRmUhi02RDk5r9pmWRTw,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=e6dqGo8Pecld2kZCSsRckA 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wildewood-0529-ph.jpg?location=full_page&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=1ZT0tukYHzeLAHilFpc-bg\" height=\"622\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">An aerial view of Wildewood Lodge on Lake Savant in Ontario, which was originally founded by a group of Wisconsinites as a wilderness and religious retreat.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Andy Kerecman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Escape from crazy<\/h2>\n<p>A few hours northeast of Scheipeter\u2019s end destination is Wildewood Lodge on Lake Savant in Ontario. The precise history of the lodge is a bit fuzzy, but once upon a time it was founded by a group of Wisconsinites as a wilderness and religious retreat. A guy from Ohio eventually bought out the church group and later sold the lodge to another Wisconsinite, who eventually sold it to the Kerecman family from, you guessed it, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Kerecman runs the place now, and he was taking a midday breather after a hectic May opening weekend that involved having to inform his 16 guests \u2014 14 Americans and two Canadians \u2014 not to arrive early because the lodge was under an evacuation order due to a nearby forest fire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a giant plume of smoke coming our way and burnt spruce needles falling on us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the wind eventually shifted, the roads reopened and the guests arrived, albeit a day or two late, and then it snowed just to keep things interesting. But what was predictable was that the fish were biting and the (mostly) American guests were happy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a really special place,\u201d Kerecman said. \u201cLook, I am from northern Wisconsin; there are over 1,300 lakes and it is beautiful there, but Canada offers a true wilderness experience and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s many places still like that in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embedded-image article-content--full_width\" data-aqa=\"embed-image\"><picture class=\"embedded-image__ratio\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=m7muu0OqmDU_F5RMgJppJA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=sKPo8FtWTdlf4pWBWZYtDw 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1200&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=-1ed8AzAwPxrF7uN1xGofg,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2400&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=flyicfXKQSpGuUGdaR1ipA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=C_inoS8XHLGSPHn_JzjG_A,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=DK02c4n_S0rSab7cVBAzgg 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=768&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=hDXzaB3EmD9pqO2438UR9Q,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=ZWA01GihAz7uOYyMIkY3xA 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=YBw0rq1CYbioM5OAg3Rk8w,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=nUHFNyjE5XagPd62enyqZQ 2x\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"data:,1w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"embedded-image__image lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=cZM3bdCw2Vei4GP7EZ2O2Q\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=375&amp;sig=cZM3bdCw2Vei4GP7EZ2O2Q,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=750&amp;sig=QWOWxLVAN0jd6OvAh2IoIg 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fishing-3-ph.jpg?location=full_width&amp;quality=5&amp;strip=all&amp;w=100&amp;sig=umZHvS2Tp_bOHzRte8I1dA\" alt=\"Anglers\" height=\"630\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Wildewood on Lake Savant owner Andy Kerecman is a Wisconsinite who got hooked on the Canadian wilderness as a teenager. He\u2019s pictured here, with a lake trout in hand, together with a smiling American guest.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Andy Kerecman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Besides, he said, the fishing in Canada is incredible, which inspired him to tell a story about how he fell in love with Wildewood.<\/p>\n<p>He and his father had come north to go bear hunting, but were wise enough to pack fishing nets for the trip. While bushwhacking along the lake\u2019s border, they caught sight of a \u201cfish back\u201d near the water\u2019s surface. They scooped it up with a net and there it was: a 48-inch northern pike with a 22-inch lake trout in its mouth. A few years later they bought the lodge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fishing here is spectacular,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The economics of owning a lodge in northwestern Ontario are a little less dazzling. An owner\/outfitter has about five months of the year to make money. Kerecman does not have a big enough sample size to draw any hard and fast conclusions \u2014 and the pandemic was a wrench in the plan of a completely different kind \u2014 but what he can say is that business has been a bit unpredictable.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">Emerging from the pandemic, 2022 was a banner year, 2023 was quieter and 2024 was their best year yet, but bookings for 2025 have been down by comparison. Kerecman does not think that the ups and downs have anything to do with politics, but are more in line with American concerns around inflation, sagging consumer confidence and uncertainty over what Trump may or may not do, especially when it comes to the fallout effects on their jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of our guests have a generational connection to fishing in Canada and they aren\u2019t going to let political tensions between the two countries stop them from coming up north,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of Kerecman\u2019s guests are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, though he will get some outlier bookings, such as a recent couple from Toronto, as well as groups from as far away as California and Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Down in Illinois, Gary Pullen was talking about the good old days, and not in fishing, but generally. The subdivisions of Peoria continue to creep closer to the farm and the annual fishing buddy trips to Ontario have been undergoing a natural process of attrition as the participants grow older.<\/p>\n<p>But what troubles him most is the change in his country\u2019s politics and personality. He is a lifelong Republican. Part of being a Republican, by his definition, means working with people you might otherwise disagree with to find a solution, but there does not appear to be any common ground these days.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump is a man-child,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is disrespectful to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Canada is different, he said. He feels as though he is being transported back to a simpler time with a slower pace, friendly people and plenty of walleye when he crosses the border at International Falls\/Fort Frances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not always about catching fish,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is about getting away from the crazy, because there is a lot of crazy these days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><em>\u2022 Email: joconnor@postmedia.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><em><strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the business news you need to know \u2014 add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--feature\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__share-group article-delimiter\" data-evt-val=\"{\" control_fields=\"\" data-evt-typ=\"page_scroll\">\n<p>Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/>Fishing draws Americans to Canada despite Trump&#8217;s trade war<\/a><br \/>\n<br \/>2025-05-30 15:12:42<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Breadcrumb Trail Links News Economy Every year hundreds of thousands of Americans migrate north for the fishing and the friendship, creating bonds not even politics can put asunder. Here are&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-60318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/60319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}