Welcome To The New World Of Barren Border Crossings

A Brief Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted May 12^th, 2025 on Niagara At Large

Last time it was a pandemic that all but shut traffic crossing our border bridges between Niagara, Ontario and Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y. down.

This time it is Donald Trump.

If you have any doubts about the news that growing numbers of Canadians and Americans have stopped crossing the border between our two countries, go online and check out the traffic  cameras on the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York and the Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York.

This past Mother’s Day weekend, when the traffic on both bridges would typically be busy with line-ups of trucks and cars, they were virtually barren.

And why?

Thanks to Trump and his open hostility toward Canada, far  fewer Canadians are now travelling to the U.S. via border crossings like this one, the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie in Niagara, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. Fewer Americans are crossing over to Canada Too. file photo by Doug Draper

First, many Canadians are not travelling to the U.S. side of the border in protest of Trump’s continued use of tariffs to threaten our economic welfare and his continued threats to our sovereignty.

Second, many Canadians and Americans are afraid of what kind of harassment they may have to put up with from Trump’s security forces (i.e. – having their phones and cars searched and possibly being detained for an hour or more, or even turned around and sent home), when they they are attempting to cross over to the U.S. side.

The Peace Bridge entrance to Buffalo, New York this past Mother’s Day, May 11th, on a nice sunny morning when there would normally be long line-ups to cross over.

Here are some still shots of the way both the Peace Bridge gateway to the U.S. and the Rainbow Bridge going both ways looked like on the mornings of this past Mother’s Day when there would normally be line-ups of traffic.

The Rainbow Bridge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York on what would normally be a busy Mother’s Day for cross-border traffic

Along with a significant drop trips across land borders, there has also been so much of a  drop in Canadians wanting to fly to destinations in the United States that airlines like WestJet have cut its number of flights. Here is a recent report that you can click on below –

Isn’t it something what one individual can do to travel between two neighbouring countries in just a few months.

Hopefully, our new Prime Minister Mark Carney can talk some sense into that individual to the south. But until then, let’s continue to stand together for our country by buying as much as we can that is grown and made In Canada and by  boycotting Made In the U.S.A.!

To listen to a recent CBC Radio report on the border crossing issue, click on the following link then click the report on – https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16143737-worried-travelling-across-u.s.-border-listen

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