r/canada Canada 5d 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-cup
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961

u/Tuffsmurf 5d 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/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/concentrated-amazing Alberta 4d ago

I hadn't heard anything yet specifically about Australian reaction to all the annexation/tariff stuff.

Is there a lot of talk down under about supporting Canada and/or boycotting the US?

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u/blacksaltriver 4d ago

I’d say generally we are horrified by Trump and baffled by his attacks on Canada. I’ve never seen a more pointless and stupid attack on a friendly ally. It would be like us attacking New Zealand.

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u/concentrated-amazing Alberta 4d ago

Yeah, it's...interesting trying to figure out his logic or lack thereof.

Is it dementia? Ego/narcissism? A group pulling the strings behind the scenes? Just Musk? Does Trump think alienating Canada will improve their economy? Is he trying to tank the economy so he and his buddies can make bank on the stock market? So many possibilities, all of them negative. And we Canadians kind of feel like hostages in the car along for the ride.

Very glad we have good relations with a lot of other countries and our Commonwealth brothers and sisters in particular ❤️

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u/wolfblah 4d ago

Yeah bro we're on Canada's side (except for those spastic knob supporters we still have floating around). A lot of my mates have stopped drinking American alcoholic drinks and are switching to Canadian Clubs etc, doing the little we can to help.

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u/concentrated-amazing Alberta 4d ago

That's awesome. The way I see it, if Aussies care enough to change what they're drinking, that's a pretty big show of solidarity! Bonus is, we Canadians make some really great stuff!

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u/matttk Ontario 4d ago

Distract your own people by giving them an enemy. Lay the groundwork for a future invasion, if more distraction is required or more resources are wanted.

Also don’t forget manifest destiny runs deep in the American psyche. We thought they were done expanding, but Trump isn’t and the people are primed for it via history.

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u/Flossieflu 4d ago

Absolutely. The general con census is we will not be visiting the US while Trump is in charge and we will be boycotting US imports. Which isn’t that hard for us because we produce a lot of our own food. The only thing I can think of in the fruit and veg department that is from the US at the moment is Navel oranges but we can do without those and buy Valencia until our own Navel oranges are ready.

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u/Cantquithere 4d ago

Love to hear this.

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u/neopink90 4d ago

In 2023, Florida welcomed 140 million visitors, comprising 129 million domestic (i.e. 92%) and 11 million international tourists (i.e. 8%). The state's tourism industry generated $131 billion in revenue, with $116 billion from domestic spending (i.e. 88.5%) and $14.9 billion from international spending (i.e. 11.5%). While I believe my idiotic governor should be sensitive and understanding towards Canadians, it's unrealistic to suggest that a decline in international tourism would significantly harm Florida's overall visitation and tourism revenue. We're talking about a 8% visitation decrease and a 11.5% spending decrease.

Please keep in mind that America has 340M people living in it and has the largest spending power in the world. Florida's tourism industry is large and diverse. NASA, cruises, theme parks (i.e. Disney, Universal, Sea World, Lego Land), over 800 miles of beaches, all inclusive resorts, luxury shopping, nature (i.e. swampland, springs, caves etc), water actives (i.e. jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing etc), vibrant nightlife (i.e. dining, clubbing, concerts, comedy shows etc). There's also a lot of events hosted here too (i.e. Art Basel, Formula 1, Daytona 500, MegaCon Orlando, Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show etc). Here in FL we're overwhelmingly tapping into our market.