Duty-free shop owner says his B.C. business is a hostage in cross-border economic war

Shaurya Kshatri · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Cameron Bissonnette, a second-generation duty-free store proprietor successful Osoyoos, B.C., is facing the harsh world that his concern whitethorn nary longer beryllium viable for the adjacent procreation of his family.

His lad and daughter, successful their aboriginal and mid-20s, person expressed involvement successful taking over, but that, helium says, present seems unlikely.

"I don't deliberation there's going to beryllium overmuch present for us, truthful [they're] going to person to onslaught their ain path," helium told CBC's Radio West.

Bissonnette, himself, is besides looking ahead, pivoting to a antithetic vocation successful existent property finance.

"I americium starting connected a [fresh] path... due to the fact that I could spot the penning connected the wall," helium said.

His family's business, located adjacent the U.S. borderline southbound of Osoyoos, has relied connected cross-border shoppers since the 1980s, erstwhile his parents archetypal obtained a licence to unfastened duty-free shops successful B.C., 1 successful Osoyoos and different successful the East Kootenays.

For years, the concern thrived, Bissonnette says, but the pandemic and increasing governmental tensions betwixt the U.S. and Canada person taken a toll.

WATCH | Bissonnette describes the symptom of apt nonaccomplishment of family business:

The store proprietor says helium feels his concern is being held "hostage" to the "economic warfare" betwixt the 2 countries, arsenic galore Canadians opt to debar travelling southbound of the border.

He says customers are scarce—some days, less than a twelve radical locomotion done the door. On 1 occasion, the lone visitant to the store came to process a refund, leaving the store with what helium called a "negative $67 day."

The store, which erstwhile employed astir 15 unit members, present operates with conscionable 3 aft aggregate layoffs.

Bissonnette had to fight back tears arsenic helium recounted his struggles during a virtual quality league connected Friday, wherever immoderate borderline concern owners and mayors from Canadian borderline towns warned of the increasing fiscal strain connected their communities.

Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff was 1 of 8 mayors astatine the event, portion of the Border Mayors Alliance, a conjugation spanning the magnitude of the Canada-U.S. border. The confederation aims to supply a unified municipal dependable successful planetary discussions and advocator for policies that safeguard borderline communities.

"The work escaped is 1 of the champion businesses successful town. They've been precise supportive of the town. They've hired radical successful the town," McKortoff said.

The state has been talking of boycotts and taking reciprocal enactment against the menace of American tariffs connected Canadian exports, with B.C. Premier David Eby precocious cancelling his household travel to Disneyland and urging British Columbaisn to debar travelling to the states.

WATCH | Peace Arch duty-free store proprietor struggles to enactment afloat: 

Recent information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a crisp diminution successful cross-border travel, with astir 500,000 less travellers crossing into the U.S. successful February compared to the aforesaid period past year.

Similarly, information from the Whatcom Council of Governments shows that the fig of B.C. drivers heading southbound done the Peace Arch borderline crossing successful Surrey has dropped by astir 25 per cent compared to 2024.

McKortoff says borderline communities like Osoyoos, a municipality of astir 5,500, is feeling the compression with less Canadians crossing south. 

Barbara Barrett, enforcement manager of the Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA), warns that Canada's 32 duty-free stores—spread crossed 7 provinces—are astatine hazard of closure.

"The businesses are facing literal demise," Barrett said. "And each of this aft inactive not being recovered from the 20-month-long borderline closure during the pandemic."

According to a 2024 FDFA report, duty-free stores lend astir $35 cardinal successful taxes annually and put much than $60 cardinal successful section economies.

Now, the FDFA and the Border Mayors Alliance are calling connected the national authorities to supply targeted fiscal enactment to assistance borderline communities upwind the crisis.

Bissonnette says helium hopes Ottawa volition forgive loans from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program, which galore borderline businesses relied connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. He's besides pushing for interest-free loans and grants to assistance support his concern afloat.

Without assistance, helium warns, the Osoyoos duty-free store — and others similar it — whitethorn not survive.

"It's getting to a constituent wherever you person to person a existent infinitesimal of reckoning," helium said. "I ne'er thought I'd person to earnestly see closing this concern down."