First came the tariff threats. Then the annexation taunts.
But it wasn’t until reports surfaced about foreigners detained while trying to enter the U.S. that Oscar Acosta decided to call off trips to three business conventions south of the border.
He was “undeterred until last month” — when the tech CEO read about 35-year-old Canadian actress and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney, who was held in detention for 12 days after reapplying for a work visa at the American border in San Diego and then banned from the U.S. for five years.
“That struck fear in my heart,” said Acosta, who runs Ottawa-based startup Body M3canix, which makes fitness-tracking devices for extreme environments.
“Being an entrepreneur as well, being from a visible minority — because my background is Hispanic — would I not run into a situation like the one that this lady ran into?”
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Acosta is not alone. Across the country, Canadians are …