There has been a fair amount of licence plate counting in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the year since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. President for a second time.
Tom Stephenson of Heyden, just north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has been crossing the border regularly as he always has, but he can see the 23.8 per cent drop in Canadian visitors being reported by the international bridge.
“It seems to be a little quieter. You used to see a lot of cars with Ontario licence plates in the parking lots and stuff and it doesn’t seem like it’s as many,” said Stephenson, who keeps a mail box in Michigan to order computer and tractor parts.
“That’s unfortunate, because I think of Sault Michigan as being neighbours. Kind of unfortunate it’s just one guy that’s doing this.”
Damon Lieurance, who runs a car rental and airport shuttle business in the American Sault, has also been watching for the white Ontario plates around town.
He says the parking lots at major retailers are still full, even though “the ratio of Canadian licence plates to Michigan licence plates might be different than it used to be.”
And at the airport, Lieurance says he can see the Canadian travellers returning.
“That segment is coming back. It isn’t like it was pre-COVID, but definitely more travel than last year,” he said.
“I think we could be doing a lot better than we are right now if we had better relations with Canada and Canadian customers.”
Lieurance is a Trump supporter, a proud Republican and an elected commissioner in Chippewa County (which includes Sault Ste. Marie) that voted 61 per cent for Trump in the 2024 election, up three per cent from his first win in 2016.
He said it is “hard to differentiate” between the hangover from COVID-19, when the Sault border was closed for 19 months, and the Canadian anger at Trump’s tariffs and annexation comments.
“Nobody in Trump world ever believed that Trump was going to try to annex Canada, but apparently, the Canadian leaders ran with that and pushed that,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have even responded, personally.”
Veterinarian Jeff LaHuis from the Sault Animal Hospital says about 30 per cent of his clients come from Canada and after a brief dip early in 2025, he says those numbers have “bounced back.”
He says he doesn’t believe this is the start of long-term divisions between the Twin Saults.
“I just think it’ll get figured out. United States and Canada have been allies forever, we’ll continue to be allies,” LaHuis said.
“You know, presidents and premiers come and go, but we’ll be here.”
Other Sault Michigan businesses say the decline in Canadian visitors began 25 years ago with tighter border restrictions after 9/11 and got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s down, not just with Canadians, but down period,” said Ray Bauer, owner of the Soo Brewing Company in downtown Sault Michigan.
“People’s habits change. So it’s not all about Donald Trump.”
Bauer says he watches regular protests at the farmer’s market across the street, including a recent rally against the ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
He says he doesn’t think the Trump tariffs have benefited the American economy and “certainly hasn’t helped border relations and hasn’t helped my business.”
But Bauer says he doesn’t expect the current administration to soften its stance to help bordertown businesses like his.
“Donald Trump change? You got to be kidding me. I’m not holding my breathe for that,” he said.
