BY PEPPER FISHER

Port Angeles – With threats of a trade war and comments about making Canada the 51st state, the relationship between the U.S. and its neighbor to the north has been tense in recent weeks.

President Trump said on Thursday his proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods will take effect March 4.

In a televised speech after the tariffs were announced, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the country’s residents to consider changing their summer vacation plans to stay in Canada. Forbes reported that Canada’s largest travel agency, Flight Centre, saw a significant wave of cancellations on flights to the U.S. around that time.
Also, this month the Associated Press, Canadian Broadcast Channel, New York Post and The Independent have all published stories about Canadians canceling their travel plans to the U.S.

But have the rising tensions impacted our state’s relationship with British Columbia, and potentially the number of Canadians who visit the Olympic Peninsula on the Coho Ferry?
We put that question to Black Ball’s Port Angeles District Manager Rian Anderson, who told us that ridership in both directions is down 16% from the same time last year. But he reminded us that they have only been in service for one week and so the sample size is small.

Anderson believes it’s too early to tell how overall ferry traffic for the year will look, but he said they are concerned that the international events and the dollar exchange could affect travel.

As of Thursday, one dollar US is worth $1.44 Canadian, making travelling north of the border a bargain for Americans. So, while the Coho Ferry may see fewer BC residents traveling down to the Olympic Peninsula, Anderson said they’re hoping see strong travel numbers from US residents.

Anderson wanted us to mention that the folks at Black Ball are incredibly grateful for the support of the Port Angeles and Olympic Peninsula community rallying around them to support Canadian travel to our area, and he said they will continue operations as usual.