Headline

Canadians Cancel Summer Trips To Trump’s America Amid Annexation, Tariff Threats

Published

8 months ago

March 26, 2025

Rosalie Cote and her parents vacationed in the US state of Maine every summer for 25 years — but this year they are staying home, incensed like many Canadians by Donald Trump’s threats of annexation and tariffs.

The United States was the top destination for Canadian tourists, with 20.4 million visits reported last year by the US Travel Association, pumping some US$20.5 billion into the American economy and supporting 140,000 jobs.

But that number is expected to plummet this year as Canadians — the targets of relentless attacks by an America First president intent on wielding tariffs as a policy tool and who speaks frequently of turning their country into the 51st state — cancel their travel plans.

“We don’t want to support the United States. It’s a matter of principle,” explains Cote.

Romane Gauvreau cancelled her mountain biking trip to Vermont and a family vacation to Maine.

“We don’t want to go to a place where democracy is in danger, where people suffer great injustices, and where people are being deported,” Gauvreau told AFP.

They are not outliers. A recent Abacus Data survey found 56 percent of Canadians have changed or cancelled their travel plans to the United States.

Bookings to American destinations in February alone fell 40 percent compared to the same month last year, while 20 percent of pre-existing reservations were cancelled, according to the travel agency Flight Centre Canada.

Canadians who typically spend winters in warmer southern US states, colloquially known as “snowbirds” and whose numbers are estimated to top one million, are also rethinking their plans.

Andre Laurent, a retired civil servant, spent half of each of the past 22 years in Florida to escape Canada’s frigid winters.

But he says everything has changed and become “unpleasant” since the return of Trump to the Oval Office in January. And so, he decided to sell his Florida home.

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“I no longer felt welcomed and I even felt like I was betraying my country,” he said.

Five of the six Canadians who lived in his Florida gated community also decided to leave the United States permanently.

– ‘Choose Canada’ –
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose final days in office were marked by Trump slapping tariffs or threats of tariffs on many Canadian goods, urged his countrymen to consider vacationing closer to home to show their patriotism.

“Choose Canada” videos quickly spread on social media, touting Canadian destinations such as the majestic Rocky Mountains in the west or Prince Edward Island, which inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery’s best-selling novel “Anne of Green Gables,” in the east.

Travel agencies were quick to leap on the trend.

At Nuance du monde, they no longer promote trips to the United States. “We’re boycotting them in light of the current situation,” said company director Samy Hammadache, adding that the loss of tourism will have “quite a significant” impact on the US tourism sector.

Agencies are already noticing a shift in Canadian bookings to destinations such as Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Canada instead of the United States.

Canadian airline Flair Airlines responded to a decline in demand for flights to popular US destinations by increasing flights to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

“These decisions are based on market needs and demand,” said Kim Bowie, director of communications for the airline said.

Tourism professor Michel Archambault predicted that the trend will see Canadian “domestic tourism reach record levels this year.”

He pointed to a Leger survey that found six out of 10 Canadians plan to vacation in Canada, adding that this is quite unusual.

A recent drop in the value of the Canadian dollar also made US travel less affordable.

For Cote, however, it’s about standing up for Canada: “We must spend money at home rather than with our neighbors who play dirty tricks on us.”

AFP

Headline

Netanyahu Asks Israeli President For Pardon From Corruption Charges

Published

18 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has asked the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption case, saying the criminal proceedings are hindering his ability to govern and that ending the trial would benefit the nation.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges.

His lawyers told the president’s office that he still believes the legal process will eventually lead to a complete acquittal.

“My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step,” Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his Likud party.

The prime minister, who has been on trial for five years, has not admitted guilt, and neither have his lawyers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu should not receive a pardon unless he admits wrongdoing, expresses remorse and immediately withdraws from political life.

Pardons in Israel are usually granted only after a conviction, but Netanyahu’s lawyers argued the president can step in when public interest is at stake, saying intervention could help heal national divisions and promote unity.

President Isaac Herzog’s office described the request as “extraordinary” with “significant implications”. His office said the president “will responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving the necessary opinions.

United States President, Donald Trump, recently wrote to Herzog urging him to consider approving the pardon, describing the case against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution”.

Herzog’s office said the request will be sent to the justice ministry’s pardons department to gather assessments that will be forwarded to the president’s legal adviser, who will prepare a recommendation.

(Reuters)

Headline

US: Four Killed, 10 Others Wounded In California Shooting

Published

1 day ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Four people were confirmed dead and 10 others injured after a shooting at a family gathering in California, United States on Saturday night, according to US police, who described the attack as a “targeted incident.”

The incident occurred inside a banquet hall in Stockton, northeast of San Francisco, shortly before 6:00 pm, spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Heather Brent, told reporters during a news briefing.

Brent said the victims, ranging from “juveniles to adults,” were rushed to nearby hospitals, noting that details about the shooting remained limited.

“What we have confirmed at this time is that there was a banquet hall where a family was celebrating. We have 14 victims of this shooting. Four of those are deceased,” Brent said.

“Early indications suggest that this may be a targeted incident. Investigators are exploring all possibilities at this time.”

The sheriff’s office posted on social media that detectives were “working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.”

“We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the post added.

Authorities said no suspect had been identified at the time of the report.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed on the development, his office said in a social media statement.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows there have been 504 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, including the Stockton attack.

(AFP)

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

3 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.