Scobey’s Liana Handran told a University of Montana roundtable last week that she keeps conversation apolitical these days with what’s left of her Canadian clientele. Handran’s home furnishings store is just 14 miles from Canada on the high plains of northeastern Montana.
“A quarter of my business used to literally come out of Canada – or go to Canada," Handran says. "Now we’re probably under 5 percent.”
Montana Department of Commerce Tourism Economist Jacob Starner says Canadian spending in the state dropped nearly 20 percent between 2024 and 2025. He suspects businesses that rely on Canadian tourism will face continued headwinds, possibly through next year.
"All of these costs, Canadian dollar depreciation, lower-than-cost oil prices, increased cost of visitation, and then of course the difficult policy and tariff environment – these things have driven Canadians to seek alternatives," he says.
It’s not just the Canadians. Many attendees say Americans are also tightening their belts.
Sarah McKinney owns rentals and a hotel in Havre on Montana’s Hi-Line.
“We should be so busy right now with people coming into town to do things, to explore. It is just dead in the water."
She suspects high gas prices are keeping Americans closer to home these days. Several attendees of last week's Rural Entrepreneurship and Leadership Co-Lab event feel their frustrations and concerns are unheard by politicians.
Again, Havre’s Sarah McKinney:
“Trump does not know how the gas price and everything affects a small business when nobody drives by it. I don’t know how to get them to listen to the people who are paying taxes.”
