It was about a year and a half ago that I wrote a column in this space, suggesting that Canadians stop vacationing in the United States.

I thought that was an appropriate way to take a moral position against U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy to exclude people from certain countries, just because they were from those countries.

I argued that as Canadians, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to that kind of discrimination. We shouldn’t cross the border as long as they couldn’t. Well, my words didn’t exactly catch fire.

According to Statistics Canada, overnight trips from Canada to the U.S. went up about 5 per cent last year. We crossed the border more than 20 million times.

Travel from the rest of the world to the United States went down. The Washington Post reports a decrease of almost 4 per cent in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the year before.

The U.S. has not retreated from its blacklisting travel policy. There’s still a total ban on everyone from six Muslim-majority countries.

On top of that, Trump has threatened to remove thousands of people who have had temporary legal status in the United States, and others who have landed there in pursuit of the American dream. That has caused a flood of asylum claimants to head for Canada. There were more than 20,000 last year. More than 7,000 already this year.

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There was a time when desperate men and women clutching all their belongings, and struggling to keep their children next to them, would be running toward the United States of America. Now they are running from the United States of America. I never thought I’d see the day.

So the moral case for not taking a vacation in the U.S. is stronger than ever. But if that doesn’t move you, now there’s an economic case too.

The president is making it harder for Canadians to put food on their tables, clothes on their backs, a roof over their heads.

Canada’s economy will grow more slowly. Canadian jobs will be lost. Prices of some goods will go up. It’s not the end of the world, but it will hurt a lot of good people.

And it’s not as if we don’t know why this is happening. It’s not like some mysterious disease has infected us and we’re wondering how the germs got here in the first place.

We know what’s going on. There’s a wild man holding the highest elected office in the U.S. In the past that office was filled by (mostly) thoughtful, reasonable, and careful men who were aware that power isn’t a license for abusing your friends.

They were also aware that not every activity in life is a zero-sum game, where one side has to lose, and it isn’t going to be your side.

So, if this president insists on punching you in the nose and eating your lunch, why would you continue to pretend he’s still a great neighbour and go over to his place to spend your time and money?

Read more:

Canada scrambled to figure out Trump’s travel ban after it was issued, U.S. documents show

Fewer tourists are visiting the U.S. under Trump. But Canadians didn’t get the memo

Trump calls some unauthorized immigrants ‘animals’ in White House rant

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It’s summer in Canada. There’s no better time to stay at home. It is no sacrifice to see your own country. From Cape Spear, Nfld., to Vancouver Island, and from Point Pelee to the top of Nunavut, there is something for everyone. There’s breathtaking natural beauty, vibrant city life, charming villages and towns, hunting and fishing, shopping and dining, museums and art galleries, historic sites and monuments, challenging hiking trails and quiet parks.

In Canada, your Canadian dollar is worth 100 cents. You don’t need a passport. The person at the amusement park probably isn’t packing a gun.

Tourism is very important to the U.S. It’s a $1.5 trillion industry. It employs 5 million people directly and another 5 million indirectly. Our federal government is doing its part to tell the White House that its tariffs are unacceptable by applying tariffs on American goods like orange juice, mattresses, and bourbon. But only ordinary Canadians can apply some pain to the tourism industry.

Go east. Go west. Go north. Enjoy yourself. Just don’t go south. Empty hotel rooms and campsites send a message.

Mark Bulgutch is the former senior executive producer of CBC News. He teaches journalism at Ryerson University.

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