Duty-free shops struggle to make ends meet as Canadians steer clear of U.S. [Video]

If business doesn’t pick up soon at his duty-shop, Éric Lapointe says he’s going to have to lay people off. 

“I’ve had three customers today so far,” the store owner told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal on Friday afternoon. “It’s a fraction of what we normally have at this time of the year.”

Lapointe says business is down 60 per cent over the same time period last year at the Boutique Hors Taxes de la Beauce near Quebec’s border with Maine. 

He’s not alone. Duty-free shops across the country, still recovering from pandemic travel restrictions, are reporting massive drops in business in recent months as Canadians increasingly avoid travelling to the U.S.  

Licensed by the the Canada Border Services Agency at 52 land border and international airports in Canada, duty-free stores sell products, including tax-free booze, to cross-border travellers, and are legally unable to pivot to deliveries or online sales. 

“If we have nobody that travels in the U.S., we …