There were 25 per cent fewer American exhibitors at this year's Cats of Summer show in Langley, organized by the Cat Fanciers of British Columbia club.
That was the estimate of Susan Marshall, show manager and club president, who blamed the "uncertain" situation south of the line, with a U.S. government cracking down on border travel.
"I think people are afraid of travelling to and from the U.S. and Canada because of the whole Trump situation," Marshall told the Langley Advance Times following the two-day annual show, held Aug. 9 and 10 at the George Preston rec centre.
"We still got our usual Canadian exhibitors, but the only decline that we see is a slight difference in the U.S. exhibitors because of the uncertainty between Canada and the U.S. right now."
It goes both ways, Marshall said, with some Canadians unwilling to travel south to attend U.S. cat shows.
Marshall said there were 117 exhibitors at this year's show, about half their capacity of 225.
That was offset by a noticeable increase in show visitors, with hundreds packing the exhibition space.
"It was crazy busy," Marshall remarked.
"I actually had some people that came and spent a lot of time at the show with us this weekend and they actually picked up a kitten from me and they're going to show. They're horse show people and now are entering the world of cat show people"
The show will return to George Preston next year, she said.
New figures released Monday, Aug. 11 by the Statistics Canada agency show the number of Americans driving north fell 7.4 per cent in July compared to the same month in 2024.
That same month, the number of Canadian-residents making return trips by automobile to and from the United States was down 36.9 per cent from the same month in 2024, the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
Air trips by Canadians to and from the U.S. were down 25.8 per cent.
At the same time, more Canadians were travelling to other countries, with overseas trips rising 5.9 per cent.
Canadian trips to the U.S. began dropping when the American president launched a trade war with Canada, imposing tariffs and making anti-Canadian comments.
Some U.S. residents are reportedly reluctant to visit Canada, according to some news reports, because they are worried they could face reprisals.
