Canadians who are usually drawn to New Orleans’ French culture are staying away this year. Louisiana’s lieutenant governor says that’s because they’re upset with President Trump.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
There are not enough Canadians visiting Louisiana this year, according to the state’s lieutenant governor. So he went to Canada recently to promote his state, which has a strong French-speaking connection to its neighbors up north. Turns out a lot of Canadians are upset with President Trump. Alex Cox with member station WRKF in Baton Rouge reports.
ALEX COX, BYLINE: This weekend is the start of the Grand Reveil Acadien near Lafayette, Louisiana. The festival happens every five years and celebrates the Acadians – descendants of early French settlers who came to Louisiana from Canada in the 1700s. It attracts a lot of tourists from Canada, but not so much this year. At least one tour company canceled.
RANDAL MENARD: Those four buses went away.
COX: That’s Randal Menard, the president of the nonprofit that puts on the festival. The tour operator told him Canadians just didn’t want to come this year.
MENARD: After the tariffs and the president’s comments, he let us know that people were dropping like flies.
COX: He’s referring to the comments President Trump has made about Canada becoming the 51st state and his ongoing international trade war. Just this week, in a meeting with the Canadian prime minister, Trump cracked a joke about a, quote, “merger” of the two countries. Louisiana Republican Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is asking the president to apologize to Canadians for those remarks. This is because on a recent trip to Canada, he heard how upset people there were.
BILLY NUNGESSER: They just pretty much said they’re not coming back until he’s either out of office or he apologized.
COX: Nungesser hasn’t heard back from the president, and he says that an apology might not fully fix things anyway, but he doesn’t know what else to do. He says tourism from Canada is down 20- to 30%, and data from Canada shows a 25% drop in U.S. visits in July compared to last year. He says the U.S. has become an unpopular destination for Canadians.
NUNGESSER: Airlines, they still have their flights, but they’re not advertising travel to America.
COX: The Grand Reveil Acadien festival this weekend will be flooded with Louisiana French music and the smells of good old Louisiana cooking. And locals will celebrate without many of their Canadian cousins, says Menard.
MENARD: I mean, we’re going to miss their presence. The program will go on, but it’s not going to be the same without their participation.
COX: He hopes their absence will only be temporary.
For NPR News, I’m Alex Cox in Baton Rouge.
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