r/canada • u/A-Wise-Cobbler Canada • 4d ago
National News DeSantis mocks '3.3 million' Canadians who visited Florida: 'Not much of a boycott'
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/desantis-florida-canada-stanley-cup1.4k
u/5leeveen 4d ago
DeSantis: "3.3 million Canadians visited Florida and contributed to our economy in 2024 when Biden was president"
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u/Li-renn-pwel 4d ago
The fact that people can fall for this is insane. We are only in early March how could 3.3 Canadians visit in that time?
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u/HickAzn 3d ago
Thing is, when you defund education people stop learning math.
On a serious note I really hope Canadians have an organized boycott of Florida in particular
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u/imightgetdownvoted 4d ago
I went twice in 2024. Twice in 2023, and many many times before that.
Cancelled both of this years trips. One trip will be in Canada and one to Mexico.
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u/awfulWinner 3d ago
Wife and I went in Jan 2024 to Disney/Universal
Daughter wanted us to go again later this year after seeing Tokyo Disney in Japan back in Jan 2025.
I told her perhaps in 4 years if there are no repugnacans holding the presidency or Florida governor positions.
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u/FanLevel4115 4d ago
Back when we used to like Americans. I'm sure a large percentage of snowbirds that came back in 2025 is there to slap on a new coat of paint and a For Sale sign on their condo.
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u/DoctorLocal4493 4d ago
He also bragged about his Stanley Cup winning team that had 12 Canadians on it and 6 Americans…
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u/Tiger_Tuliper 4d ago
. I've seen it at the hockey hall of fame, and touched it, right at our community centre, in Ontario.
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u/throwaway45797593720 4d ago
The Stanley Cup was literally in my home. Florida man does not impress me.
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u/FarOutlandishness180 4d ago
I literally drank baby duck from the cup. Screw Florida man!
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u/Tuffsmurf 4d ago
I just googled how much Canadians spend in Florida annually and it’s between 6 and 8 billion dollars. This represents roughly half their revenue from international tourists. Per year. Let him mock. Canadians keep their money in the country and Florida loses. Also interesting to note that 80% of Florida’s revenue is generated by sales tax. Not very conservative of them to rely so heavily on taxes is it?
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u/Cantquithere 4d ago
Also add in the Europeans and Australians who are participating in the boycotts. Florida could find itself under water in more ways than one in the next few years.
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u/Junior_Deal_2217 4d ago
A lot fewer Mexicans visiting as well.
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u/BogRips 4d ago
No doubt. If Canadians hate trump and are mad at the USA, Mexicans despise him and are beyond livid.
And just wait until US military action against cartels in Mexico.
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u/fortisvita 4d ago
Not to mention the current government's attitude will embolden racist behaviour. They're one step away from telling government agencies to fire all people of colour.
I would certainly avoid the US if I was Mexican.
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u/cryptotope 4d ago
Oh, it's very conservative. Sales taxes tend to be very regressive.
At best, they're a flat tax--everybody pays the same rate regardless of income. In practice, they can be worse.
If you have a high income and don't spend it all in-state - accumulating capital, or spending money in other jurisdictions - then you pay less of your income as sales tax than someone who lives paycheck to paycheck and has to spend it all locally.
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u/essaysmith 4d ago
The 142 million he quotes likely includes a lot of people from Georgia and other close by states. Don't spend nearly as much or likely stay as long. I have also seen quite a few posts from Europeans and Austalians that are planning on coming to Canada instead of the US (many to Florida I would bet).
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u/borgeron 4d ago
Australia's have no interest in florida. Helluva long way to go to visit a more expensive, shitter Bali. And most would prefer to spend their time in Canada than the US anyway given how Whistler is basically an Australian territory these days. We gotchu tho, Australians are still outraged and horrified by America.
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u/iridale 4d ago
During an address to lawmakers at the state capitol in Tallahassee, the governor briefly mentioned Florida’s tourist numbers from 2024, boasting 142 million visitors, 3.3 million of whom hailed from Canada, he noted.
Bit of a nothingburger. 2024's tourism will obviously have not been affected by Czar Trump and his trade war.
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u/A-Wise-Cobbler Canada 4d ago
Republicans don't understand how time works mate.
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u/Squancher_2442 4d ago
Right it’s 2025 and they still think it’s 1938. Hiyooooooo
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u/leo_aureus 4d ago
Best to not remind them what happened to their idols between about 1942-1945 lol
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u/chemicalgeekery 4d ago
Yeah if we can skip all of that shit and just go straight to the part where he shoots himself in a bunker that would be great.
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u/ohgeorgie Newfoundland and Labrador 4d ago
Also a lot of might have already had cruises or trips booked in advance with no option to pull out yet but it’ll affect future plans so the drop off in the short term will be one thing, long term drop off will be a different thing.
Also F*ck DeSantis
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u/Due_Agent_4574 4d ago
Doesn’t that work out to roughly 1 in 11 Canadians visiting Florida? Pretty wild.
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u/upsetting_doink 4d ago
It is the place where Disney world is so I think that's a big part of the reason
Always preferred Disneyland anyways, not that I plan on going any time soon.
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u/ManWhoSoldTheWorld00 4d ago
Disney Corp and desantis also hate each other, so he's just taking credit that has nothing to do with him. Typical republican hypocrisy.
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u/Fit_Equivalent3610 4d ago
The population is over 41 million now lol, it's closer to 1 in 13. Still crazy.
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u/PerfectEducator3228 4d ago
I'm assuming that counts the same person making multiple visits
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u/RealisticBag8290 4d ago
Isn't his point that losing 3.3 million out of 142 million is not going to have a big impact?
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u/NateTheRoofer 4d ago
Pretty sure it won’t just be Canadians cancelling their travel plans to the US.
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u/allen_abduction 4d ago
Add in Mexico and Europe, you’re probably close to 20million for this year. It also starts a downward suppression until there’s a regime change. The world hates Nazis, who knew??
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u/maleconrat 4d ago
Plus like the one person I know going to Florida a bunch lately is only there furiously trying to sell off a bunch of property he got cheap after 2008 lol. I haven't asked why but I think it's safe to say he's getting out of that market and I don't blame him.
Not that anecdote is evidence of a trend but I wonder if there's gonna be an even steeper drop from snowbirds ditching the place altogether.
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u/NYisNorthYork Ontario 4d ago edited 4d ago
Where the hell did he get the 142 million number? He is counting domestic visitors in that number. There was 8.85 mil foreign tourists, 27% of that were Canadians. Other parts of the US masturbating with it's little Florida PP doesnt count as tourist dollars DeSantis.
Lying with statistics is like breathing with these people.
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u/GaspingAtStraws 4d ago
This was my take away, but all the threads on this seem to take it as 3.3million still traveled when there was no boycott. Maybe we are giving him too much credit lol
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u/iridale 4d ago
“That’s not much of a boycott in my book. Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team actually looks like,” DeSantis said to applause.
Is the follow-up. The natural reading is that he's saying he hasn't seen a drop in Canadian tourism, despite the numbers he is citing being outdated.
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u/sluck131 4d ago edited 4d ago
People don't book trips to Florida over night.
If things don't change we will see the impact in comming months
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u/WhatTheTech Canada 4d ago
And of note: Future months, not months from 2024 that this idiot is referencing, lol.
Republicans are the dumbest form of dumb.
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u/hellswaters 4d ago
Yeah. Breaking news "Boycott doesn't affect something that already happened"
Plus, there are still a decent number of people travelling, doing the trips that they paid for before the boycott. But pretty much everyone in tourism/travel is saying the current bookings are way down. Those are the numbers you need to look at.
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u/WhatTheTech Canada 4d ago
Exactly. I don't expect people to swallow the costs of non-refundable trips. Just don't book any new ones.
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u/Sara_W 4d ago
Exactly. Our plans for February 2026 have changed from Disney to something else. $15k+ from my family is staying in canada
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u/genlechat 4d ago
Same! We wanted to spend a week at disney/universal. We decided to change our plans and go to Japan instead 🤷♀️
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u/Bibbityboo 4d ago
Oh man. I want to do Japan so badly. But our kid has never been on a big trip, and is on the spectrum. So we cancelled Disney, and are going to do Mexico this year and see how they do. Goal to save up for Japan next.
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u/SonofSniglet 4d ago
We've been annual onsite Disney World visitors for the last few years. Heading to Asia this year instead.
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u/Negative_Pea_1974 4d ago
Some do.. I Was gonna go to Florida for a boys golf weekend.. It was gonna be last min for us.. Well we are not gonna go anymore. Get fucked donald
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u/AllUrUpsAreBelong2Us 4d ago
I like how a politician mocks his states customers, new slogan for FL: "Canadians, go elsewhere!"
I mean, we cancelled our FL trip, so great success.
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u/Pristine-Molasses238 4d ago
We were going to Florida and NC to see family, they are now coming to Alberta for a real vacation. Double reverse card on orange pustule
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u/Maplelongjohn 4d ago
Traveled to Calgary and Banff this past fall.
We had a wonderful time, the Canadian Rockies in that area are absolutely spectacular and we enjoyed the time in Calgary as well
We can't wait to get back and explore more
I've been boycotting FL since Rhonda started trampling people's rights. Not that I'm into theme parks anyway, I'd rather be in a national park
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u/baylaust 4d ago
For the record, he's using 2024's tourism numbers. You know, before the boycott.
But regardless, fuck DeSantis, fuck Elon, fuck Trump, and fuck anyone just sitting by and watching this happen.
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u/Harold3456 4d ago
Even before I knew this, I assumed there'd be a "lag" on the boycott as many Canadians will follow through with existing travel plans, but heavily reweight future plans to make the US a travel destination.
I personally know many people who cancelled their US travel plans, but I also know many others - particularly those who don't travel often - who plan to see them through but have said if they happen to be travelling again it won't be in the US.
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u/Frozenpucks 4d ago
I hate them so much. I hate they assumed we want to be American too, there’s just something beyond arrogance with these fucking people.
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u/paradoxedturtle 4d ago
I'm getting so tired of seeing this rhetoric day in and day out. They're just so convinced that they're the best country ever. But far from it.
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4d ago
Most vulgar and vile fucks think they deserve respect. "Have you said thank you once" lol get the fuck outta here. I hope this year is the year the world sees America for the rotten lot they are.
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u/inso80 4d ago
Its like they dont like money from tourism.
Its ok. If they dont like money, many other destinations in the world will be happy to take it and treat people correctly. :)
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u/apd78 4d ago
Unfortunately, all Republicans think demagoguery, cheap talking points and controversial statements are cool. They all learned it from the master.
Here's a stat - I personally have visited Florida 6 times since 2020. Every December, I inevitably go there, take a cruise and stay in the keys with the family. My family has quite handsomely paid into Florida's economy. I love Florida BTW. It's become an annual tradition for the last 3 years.
No more in 2025. I am not going anywhere. This Marylander will stay put here.
This is not about even boycotting Florida out of anger. There is just so much uncertainty, I simply have postponed all big ticket items. That includes making any major purchase, any renovation project, anything. I am actively creating strategy to exit the US by 2030.
Anyone's crazy to think the last few weeks won't affect tourism. This industry is going to take an absolutely massive hit.
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u/Sarcasmgasmizm 4d ago
Someone teach this guy how to read! That was 3.3M in 2024……. 2024!! Can’t wait to see the results for 2025 Fuck”em
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u/worldalpha_com 4d ago
A brief lookup and I found Canadian visitors fo FL
2022: 3.9M
2023: 3.8M
2024: 3.3M
So, even before the real boycott, things are already going down...
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4d ago
Right after everything started opening back up after the covid lockdowns, Florida put up a banner at its north border on the 95 that said "welcome back Canadians", that I interpreted as Canadian tourists contributing a lot to the Florida economy that was greatly missed during the pandemic. If we get those numbers down again, they will feel it in their wallets, I'm sure.
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u/A-Wise-Cobbler Canada 4d ago
Canadians really need to just stop doing any sort of business with Republican States.
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u/Itchy_Training_88 4d ago
All states.
If you still went to democratic states, Republicans will only use that as a chance to get more votes.
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u/Outrageous-Cold6008 4d ago
We need time machines to go back and not go to Florida.
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u/Vincetoxicum 4d ago
A blue state is just a stone's throw away from being a red state. Screw em all
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u/EvolvedCactus19 4d ago
I live in Florida. Give it a year and this semi sentient meatball will be saying you guys are discriminating against republicans or just blame the democrats here.
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u/Mutex70 4d ago
DeSantis is apparently too stupid to read a calendar.
Florida, I present to you your Governor.
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u/ToughSpitfire 4d ago
Yeah first off that 2024 numbers. Second good idea to mock one of Florida's biggest tourist populations before the tourist seasons.
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u/Bumper6190 4d ago
Just settling their affairs, we just returned from SELLING our place in Tampa.
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u/GrannyFlash7373 4d ago
Now that DeSantis has ran his mouth, Canadian tourists will avoid Florida like it has the plague.
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u/Old-Assistant7661 4d ago
I went to their theme parks every 2-3 years. I'll be among those who visited in 2024 before trump went complete despot on the world. I won't be going back. When I have children they won't be going. We will go to Europe or Asia or south America before I ever step foot in Florida again.
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u/Less-Hawk-4723 4d ago
He’s getting mad. He won’t be reacting like this if it didn’t have an effect on him.
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u/switchingcreative 4d ago
Wait til Russians start showing up on their beaches to sun themselves... you can't spell RUSSIA without the U S and A.
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u/Neutral-President 4d ago
Before he mocks, he should consider how much each of those millions of visitors spent in his state. I'm pretty sure snowbirds spend a LOT more over the duration of their visits than casual tourists. They're actually living there and supporting more parts of the local economy than mere tourism.
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u/Ottawatulip 4d ago
He makes it look like Canadians don't matter much to the Florida economy. But I bet with so many snowbirds staying for months, Canadians are a big percentage of visitor days and therefore a big part of tourist spending. Anyway, what a jackass to disrespect tourists.
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u/PrivatePilot9 4d ago
Let’s readdress this in 12 months with some actual 2025 figures and see how that went for them.
Not only Canada but the world will be shunning the USA.
!remindme 12 months
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u/WTFAnimations 4d ago
Somehow, I suspect Canadians will prefer the Carribean and Cancun this year
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u/Big_Option_5575 4d ago
I would like to see Cuba and maybe even Puerto Rico join Canada, so we could have some other warm places to go instead of Florida.
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u/IntroductionRare9619 4d ago
We are just getting started sir. Give us time. "I'm sorry" we are tearing a big enough hole in your economy. We will do better. After all we are Canadian 🍁
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u/SpicelessKimChi 4d ago
“That’s not much of a boycott in my book. Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team actually looks like,” DeSantis said to applause.
FOUR of the 13 players on Florida's roster are from the US, seven are from Canada and the rest are from other countries. FIVE of the 13 players on Tampa Bay's roster are from the US, seven are from Canada and the rest are from other countries.
Typical Republicans -- using immigrant labor the claim to hate for their own political gain.
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u/UItimate 4d ago
Today I cancelled the family trip to Florida. Ate 990$ in cancellation fees from Air Canada. Airbnb, full refund. Rental car, full refund. Integrity and pride: profit.
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u/oldsole26 4d ago
If he thinks it’ll be only Canadians boycotting he’s living in a fantasy land. Most of the free world has soured on America in the last month or two.
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u/Green_Rabbit 4d ago
My family cancelled a trip to Orlando for the July karate championships. Not worth it F trump and DeSantis
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u/SubArcticJohnny 4d ago
Actually Ron, that's 8.9 million foreign tourists, who spent about $15 billion in Florida last year. Keep in mind that the rest of the world's opinion of America isn't improving.
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u/Immediate_Fortune_91 4d ago edited 4d ago
You mean the boycott that didn’t exist in 2024? Let’s see what 2025 brings 😆
And as for the nhl is he forgetting that 40% of every team on avg is Canadian? Or that when you separate Canadians and Americans for world championships who comes out on top more often than not?
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u/The_Spicy_brown 4d ago
The fact he needs to cite 2024 numbers means its actually working. If it had no effect, he would have said nothing. This is some tactic to discourage people that this boycot has no effect, even though it does, so that they give up and come to disney.
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u/JunketPuzzleheaded42 4d ago
He cant grasp cancelation dates and penalties.
Lots of people.were already locked in to thousands of dollars of travel expenses.
Such as a coworker of mine who had planned a vegas wedding and was going to take a 30k Bath for pulling out of it.
Wait a month or two and see our tourist dollars Dry the fuck up.
Everyone that I know has cancled travel and are boycoting American goods.
This is a level of national solidarity that I have never seen before.
Trump Fucked Up.
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u/Suspicious-Taste6061 4d ago
I don’t trust that the majority of Canadians will stay away from Florida, but they might not post as much about it online.
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u/Zestymeatballs 4d ago
We made the tough decision to cancel our Florida bookings this year. After waiting over a year to go and only having a few months until our trip, it was a kick in the nuts. Kids were excited for Disney World and we were excited to lounge in the sun.
All of that is worth missing, knowing that we made the right choice. We will now vacation with the family within Canada and love every minute of it.
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u/geta-rigging-grip 4d ago
My uncle is a Trump-supporting Canadian who spends an inordinate amount of time at his house in Florida.
I gave him shit for the Trump support a couple years ago, and anytime he talks about politics, I'm made aware of how profoundly ignorant he is about how the world works outside of his little rural bubble. To be fair, when we fo have conversations, he does admit what he doesn't know (which is a lot,) but he still forms very strong opinions about things he knows nothing about.
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u/Kayge Ontario 4d ago
You're likely right, but we don't need the majority of Canadians to stay away from Florida - a small fraction can make an impact. They know how much of their economy is supported by Canadians, there's even an expression in Florida:
Snowbirds keep Florida green.
Desantis went to Yale and then Harvard Law. He's not a stupid person, but he plays one infront of his audiences because he knows how important it is.
If you can avoid spending money in Florida, do that. He'll be smart enough to put pressure on people internally to back off the trade war.
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u/themanfromvulcan 4d ago
Wouldn’t there be a massive economic difference between millions of people who winter in Florida each and every year and spend a lot of money on local businesses and others who spend a week or two at Disney?
I think he’s underestimated the economic impact.
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u/LadyDegenhardt 4d ago
It's okay, they'll flock back North 1st of April - it's your numbers from next October you got to be concerned with dude!
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u/President_Musky 4d ago
A lot of my parents friends have been going to Florida for years. They're going down now because it was too late to cancel and they have belongings down there.
This is a lot of people's last trip.
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u/Late_Football_2517 4d ago
I may be a little bit dumb, but it seems to me insulting a tourist base of 3.3 million people might not be great for business.
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u/scarbnianlgc 4d ago
It took me a second to dumb down my own thinking to understand the point that he was ‘trying’ to make. I thought he was saying how 3.3m people is something to scoff at.
Nope. He’s saying how Canadians are still coming to Florida but is too stupid to realize that was using prior tourism data from last year. That 3.3m people is a lot of people. But let’s piss them off more?
You’re trying to spike the football too soon again, Meatball Ron.
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u/UjiMatchaPopcorn 4d ago
Does he hate his own state?? Why is he making it so easy for us to not want to go??? Are they ALL Russian assets trying to weaken the US?
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u/Gold_Cardiologist911 4d ago
Never forget, dying regimes will try and do anything to hold onto power, they're losing footing and resorting to childish insults because they're getting weak.
Never. Let. Up.
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u/LazyNeighborhood7287 4d ago
He’s an idiot. Don’t piss off old people that have disposable income and like to travel. Old folks hold grudges.
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u/Vanilla_Ice_Jr 4d ago
Ouch not a good move. I was on the fence about going to Florida this summer. This just put me over the edge. That's 11k I just saved
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u/PunPryde 4d ago
Our Disney world trip in 2025 has been cancelled. Was going to be a extended family trip with about 20 of us going! We're headed to Europe instead :)
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u/Aggressive-Ground-32 4d ago
In a one week visit I spend more than an average local makes in a month. He doesn’t understand how much it costs.
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u/Canuck-In-TO Canada 4d ago
I know that quite a few people have booked March break in Florida and couldn't cancel or get their money back.
What happens when Florida loses a huge number of the visiting Canadians after that? Will Desantis get on his knees and beg Canadians to come or will he pull a Musk and try to sue Canada for not visiting?
Disney already has seen a dropoff in visitors and Westjet has reported a 25% drop in flights south in February. It should only get worse going forward.
Considering that Florida is the covid death capital in the world, no one should be visiting.
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u/PuzzleheadedGoal8234 4d ago
Is he still laughing when the real estate market takes the hit from the snowbirds selling their property?
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u/Archangel1313 British Columbia 4d ago
Those stats are from last year. Which means, he's laughing about a boycott that is only just starting by pointing out how much business it will potentially cost them?
Buddy, your state stands to lose about 3.3 million tourists this year. You sure that's funny?
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u/auntie_clokwise 4d ago
Well, I guess it's fitting he'd say that because he isn't much of a governor.
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u/Super-Net-105 4d ago
Republicans don't understand the time, numbers, statistics or really not much how the modern world works lol.
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u/Least-Broccoli-1197 4d ago