Earlier this fall, the trade war between the U.S. and our northern neighbors escalated significantly. The trade issues chiefly have to do with tariffs, or taxes on imports from another country, with both the U.S. and Canada jacking up tariffs on goods ranging from things like alcohol and dairy to fertilizer and motorcycles. Could it impact hunting, too?
Apparently, yes. While hunting is a recreational activity, not a good, it appears that it could come under fire as part of the trade war, particularly when it comes to Canadian outfitters that cater to American hunters—which make up a significant portion of the hunting tourists in the Great White North.
According to CBC News, Susan Holt, the Premier (their version of “governor”) of New Brunswick, recently stated that they could take aim at fishing and hunting licenses for Americans. “The provincial government will…pursue additional measures, including undertaking a legislative review to explore giving the minister of natural resources the authority to restrict the issue of fishing and hunting licences,” wrote the government in a press release.
In other words, Canadian politicians appear to be seriously considering creating impediments for American hunters as a way of inflicting pain as part of the trade war, despite the fact that doing so would almost certainly hurt local outfitters. “Putting this industry into that trade war is completely asinine,” said Larry Adair, owner of Adair’s Wilderness Lodge. “A lot of our small outfitters, it would devastate them.”
Now, it should be noted that New Brunswick, which neighbors Maine, is more popular among big game hunters than traveling waterfowlers, who typically frequent the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. As far as we can tell, similar initiatives are not being undertaken in those provinces, though it’s worth noting that tensions between locals and non-resident waterfowl hunters, especially over “illegal outfitting,” have led to new restrictions on non-resident hunters in those areas. For instance, this season is the first in which Saskatchewan instituted “term limit” licenses for non-resident hunters, restricting bird hunters to two 5-day licenses each fall and one 5-day license each spring.
Whether American waterfowl hunters could have their opportunity to hunt in Canada restricted even further due to the trade war remains to be seen, though I suspect doing so would hurt Canadian outfitters more than it would American hunters, who can simply wait for the same ducks and geese to migrate south. Regardless, we’ll continue covering the potential situation.