Canadians Avoid US Travel, and Airlines Scramble

Air Canada is pivoting to fewer US flights, more to Europe

As many Canadians have recently decided not to travel to the United States, either declaring this in polls or by cancelling trips, resulting in a drop of some 13 percent by air, airlines are scrambling to meet domestic demand and fewer routes across the border.

For example, WestJet is adding more flights to "markets of strength", including Europe, and sun destinations like Mexico and Cuba.

Air Canada says as of mid-March, transborder bookings were down about 10 percent for the next six months. As a result the airline is adjusting some of its US flights by using smaller aircraft and reducing frequencies of flights.

The Canadian airline has added a new route for summer, Montreal to Edinburgh, and increased the number of flights to Paris, Rome and Athens.

Meanwhile, Discover Airlines, owned by Lufthansa, will launch a Calgary-Munich route. 

Porter Airlines is also reducing its summer service to the US and shifting to domestic markets.

Mike Arnot, a spokesman for airline analytics firm Cirium says it's unusual to see such a significant dip in demand for Canada-US travel.

"It's a tough place for the airlines to be," he said.

Cirium analyses data from travel agencies and booking websites, and found summer bookings between major Canadian cities and popular US destinations dropped nearly 20 percent compared to last year.

But bookings for July between popular Canadian destinations increased by about 11 percent compared to 2024.

However, if people are still keen on traveling to the US, they might be able to take advantage of lower air fares, perhaps at the beginning of May, says aviation expert John Gradek.

And strangely, you can thank American President Donald Trump for that.

Vancouver's Green Christmas

Vancouver will have a green, not white Christmas this year

It's going to be a very wet Christmas this year and hopefully Santa Claus is prepared with waterproof boots for the downpours in Vancouver.

These few days there are weather warnings from Environment and Climate Chance Canada of strong winds and a lot of precipitation.

Gusting winds are expected to arrive Monday evening, while on Christmas Day there will be a "powerful frontal system" bringing very strong winds and heavy rain.

On Boxing Day there will be a weaker low pressure storm that will bring more strong winds to the south coast.

Climate change has caused Canadian cities to lose many days below zero, which has severely affected winter sports like skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and skating.

Between 2014 and 2023, of all the Canadian cities, Vancouver has lost the most days below zero at 19, followed by Toronto at 13, Montreal 6 and Calgary 5.

In the same period, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been the hardest hit, each having lost up to 23 wintery days.

Last year skiing on Vancouver's local mountains was literally a wash out as it rained so much. Last month the ski season started one week earlier with a lot of snow at first, but now the ski hills are wet instead of cold.

Skiing may soon be one of those sports that may disappear with the lack of snow...

Picture of the Day: Hail in August

Golfball-sized hail in Calgary today -- in August!

When I saw pictures of snow in Calgary on Twitter, I didn't believe it at first -- until I heard the news report on the radio saying there were reports of hail -- in August -- and rainfall in southern Alberta tonight.

One thunderstorm produced hail the size of golfballs that cause severe damage to car windshields. 

"This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation," a post read on Environment Canada's website.

"Extremely large hail can smash windows, destroy property and vehicles and cause life-threatening injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles."

The hail and heavy rainfall were so bad that they caused damage in the domestic terminal building of YYC Calgary International Airport. 

"We are prioritising the safety of all guests and staff and clearing the impacted area. We are currently assessing the damage and its impact to operations," read a statement, adding that no injuries have been reported at this time.

The damage, which included ceiling panels falling down, has resulted in delays and cancellations in flights. 

Another sign that climate change is definitely here? How much longer can Alberta Premier Danielle Smith deny it? Devastating wildfires in Jasper and now golfball-sized hail in August?

Canadians Crowdfund to Pay for Living Expenses

Over 200,000 fundraising campaigns set up on GoFundMe

In a sign that average Canadians are struggling to get by with the increased cost of living, many are turning to crowdfunding to help pay for food and housing.

According to data from GoFundMe, over 200,000 fundraising campaigns were set up in the last three years raising more than C$480 million combined.

The fundraising platform says this is a 274 percent increase in campaigns that mention "cost-of-living" since 2020.

C$480M donated to pay for living expenses

Between 2020 and 2023, 214,912 campaigns were created, which raised C$480,212,706 to help pay for cost-of-living expenses, mostly food and housing.

Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver were the cities with the most cost-of-living campaigns during this period.

The GoFundMe data also shows that in 2023, around 35,500 campaigns solely focused on helping to pay rent.

Even the Parkdale Community Food Bank in Toronto has a GoFundMe campaign, in addition to collecting donations on its website and other charities. It has raised just under C$17,000 from 2020 to 2023.

It's a sad reality when people are virtually panhandling just so that they can pay basic living costs. There's not much relief in sight, though interest rates are expected to fall this year. 

But by the same token it's amazing there are others who have opened their wallets to donate to these people in need. C$480 million is not chump change. Every little bit helps.

Nordstrom's Closing Shop

The Nordstrom in Vancouver is shuttering in a few months

The Canadian retail scene is getting emptier with the news that Nordstrom is pulling out of the market completely.

After eight years of losing money annually, the American chain retailer is closing all its 13 stores across the country including Nordstrom Rack.

Even the discount stores are closing for good

Nordstrom is seeking bankruptcy protection. In its court filings, in 2022, Nordstrom's Canadian division sold about CAD$515 million worth of goods, but lost $72 million while doing so.

One retail consultant says Nordstrom scaled up too quickly without understanding the differences between customers in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, while another says the retailer misjudged customers here.

"They probably just overestimated how rich we are and how much we spend on luxury goods," said retail consultant Bruce Winder. "We just don't have as many people who would desire that kind of merchandise they needed to break even."

YUP. They had no idea how cheap Canadians are!

In addition Winder says, the age of the department store is over... so who is going to take over these massive multi-floor spaces that were meant to be anchor stores in shopping malls across the country?

One wonders how good the sales will be...

In the meantime people are looking forward to the sales that will be happening later this month. Many will be checking them out for any deals like hawks circling their prey...