A few days before the construction holidays, Quebec travelers practically deserted the road crossing Saint-Théophile to Jackman, in Maine. There are few vehicles, apart from semi-trailers that transport wood.
When we arrived at the Boutique de la Beauce boutique, less than a hundred meters from the American customs in Armstrong, two cars are parked in parking: that of the owner and that of a rare customer.
“The parking lot is empty … It’s often the same,” drops Éric Lapointe, owner of the store.
“We are a Canadian company that is boycotting the United States by Canadians,” he said. Three -quarters of its customers are Canadian.
During the 45 minutes spent on the scene, no other person has entered the store. Only a few cars crossed to the United States, almost all led by American travelers who returned home.
“There are far fewer passers -by. We do not see no trailers who go to the United States this summer, ”said Soleil The mayor of the border municipality of Saint-Théophile, Alain Chabot.
Statistics Canada data confirm this observation. For a sixth month in a row, the number of Canadians returning from the United States is decreasing compared to 2024. In June, more than a million travelers returned by car, which represents a decrease of 33.1 %.
In hot water
Éric Lapointe had a career in this off -tax store. He started there as a student, before climbing the ladder. In the middle of the pandemic, he became the owner.
The latter fed the hope of seeing cross-border traffic return to normal in the summer, despite the trade war initiated by Donald Trump against Canada and the flip-flop of Canadian travelers.
“If the Canadians are asked to boycott the United States, it is to take away my customers,” said Lapointe.
Since the entry into force of the prices, it has recorded a drop in sales of up to 57 %. And this continues during what should be its most lucrative period, it started in mid-June.
“Doing less 10 %is flat. Minus 20 %is rough. Minus 30 %, you are limited. But less 50 %, you just have to cross your fingers that it won’t last too long, ”said the store owner.
Usually, his tablets overflow with chocolate. Today, he lets out his inventory to avoid bankruptcy. “It’s a matter of survival.”
To reach the two ends, he keeps a single part -time employee, instead of the three student posts he posted before.
“I practically cut all my employees, and it is not enough,” he says, a little discouraged.
His next weekend is scheduled for August 8.
“It was not that the plan,” said the one who planned to work four days a week to spend more time with his children during the summer.
“Unprecedented crisis”
Éric Lapointe is not the only one in this difficult situation. Other out -of -tax stores do not escape it.
“All shops in Quebec are undergoing major loss of income and are faced with uncertainty about their future. No region escapes the current crisis, “said the Soleil The director of the Association border outside tax (AFHT), Barbara Barrett.
At the national level, sales of these shops have dropped 60 to 80 % in recent months compared to previous years.
“This sustained and severe drop has pushed several stores to closure, and other closures are to be expected if the situation continues,” says Barrett.
The off-tax store in Belleville, New Brunswick, will put the key under the door in six weeks.
“I had known the owner for several years. It gives a blow. We will all finish in the same place, just not at the same time, ”says Éric Lapointe.
Off -tax shops are going through an “unprecedented” crisis, according to the director of AFHT.
“Useless” obstacles
Barbara Barrett calls for immediate action on the part of the government. In particular, it requires the abolition of regulatory obstacles deemed “useless”.
“All products that are purchased here must go to the United States. You cannot come and shop here, and go back to Saint-Georges with a bottle [de gin] Ungava, ”explains Éric Lapointe.
The products in his shop must have spent at least 48 hours with our neighbors before being admitted to Canada.
Except that without Canadian travelers, the business model is in danger.
This is why AFHT requires emergency support to help stores to survive until cross -border trips resume at a more sustained pace.
“This crisis must not last too long, otherwise I will be in trouble. In fact, I am already, but I will be even more so, ”blows Mr. Lapointe, who could be forced to live the repercussions of the Trump era for another three years.