Pummeled by Tariffs and Rhetoric: Jay Peak Leader Speaks Out in Washington

Jay Peak, a $70 million enterprise in Orleans County, relies heavily on Canadian visitors for 50% of its revenue and 60% of its profits.

In a compelling testimony before Congress, made possible by an invitation from Vermont Senator Peter Welch, on June 12, 2025, Steve Wright, president and general manager of Jay Peak Resort in Northern Vermont, sounded the alarm on the devastating impact of U.S. tariffs and anti-Canadian rhetoric on his business and the broader

Vermont tourism economy. Jay Peak, a $70 million enterprise in Orleans County, relies heavily on Canadian visitors for 50% of its revenue and 60% of its profits. However, recent policies, including tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, are driving a wedge between the resort and its Canadian clientele, threatening jobs, local taxes, and long-standing cultural ties.

A Border Economy Under Strain

Jay Peak, located in Jay, Vermont—home to just 550 full-time residents—transforms into a bustling hub of nearly 10,000 visitors daily during peak weekends. Half of these visitors are Canadians, traveling from as far as Toronto (seven to eight hours away) or as close as the Eastern Townships, just minutes across the border. The resort’s proximity to Canada, with half a dozen border crossings within miles of Wright’s office, has fostered a 60-year relationship rooted in shared history, economics, and culture. Policies like accepting Canadian cash at par for lift tickets, waterpark admissions, and golf rounds—often at a 20-35% discount—have strengthened these ties.

But Wright warned that this relationship is unraveling. “We are forecasting a potentially catastrophic amount of trouble relating to Canada’s unwillingness to visit this summer, next winter, and for some indeterminate future,” he testified. Data paints a grim picture: hotel reservations from Canadian visitors dropped 45% between January and April 2025, credit card spending fell nearly 40%, border crossings declined 35% year-to-date, and visits to vermont.com, a key planning tool, plummeted 70%. At Jay Peak, winter season pass sales to Canadians are down 35%, golf groups are canceling daily, and half of the 300 Canadian teams in the resort’s 40 annual hockey tournaments are expected to pull out this year.

Tariffs Hit Hard

The Trump administration’s tariffs are compounding the crisis. Wright highlighted a stalled negotiation for a new $15 million chairlift, where the manufacturer warned of a potential 50% price hike due to tariffs. “We discontinued the conversation,” Wright said, underscoring how such cost escalations limit the resort’s ability to invest in infrastructure. These tariffs also affect suppliers, forcing Jay Peak’s team to spend valuable time sourcing alternatives to avoid future price shocks.

As the economic engine of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom—a 2,000-square-mile region with 75,000 residents—Jay Peak supports 1,500 jobs and significant state and local taxes. A reduction in Canadian visitors and rising operational costs threaten this ecosystem. Wright noted that the resort’s affordability, a core part of its brand, is at risk. “If I start escalating costs to Canadians, at the same time we’re continuing to whack them with this reckless narrative about their sovereignty, I’m gonna lose half of my business,” he said.

A Cultural and Emotional Toll

Beyond economics, Wright’s testimony revealed a deeper wound. After personally calling nearly 100 Canadian households who purchased season passes last year but not this year, he encountered raw emotion. “There were tears on most of these Canadian guests,” he recounted. Many cited the administration’s “flagrant disrespect of Canadian independence” as a challenge to their sovereignty and identity. One family told him, “I’m not sure when we’re coming back, Steve. Frankly, I’m not sure we ever will.” In Quebec’s Eastern Townships, once marked by separatist fleurs-de-lis flags, maple leafs now dominate—a sign of galvanized national pride in response to U.S. rhetoric.

This sentiment is particularly poignant given Jay Peak’s cultural blend. The resort serves French fries with American gravy and Canadian cheese curds, and its bars pour equal parts Budweiser and Molson. Canadian workers, homeowners, and dual-citizenship locals are integral to its identity. “These unforced errors on the part of the current administration are not only causing problems for us at the mountain,” Wright said, “but these ripples of negative influence are washing over the entire Vermont travel and tourism economy.”

A Call for Policy Change

Wright’s testimony, delivered with gratitude to Senators Peter Welch, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Ben Ray Luján for convening the forum, was a plea for policies that support, not hinder, border economies. He questioned the supposed benefits of tariffs, noting, “I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I haven’t figured anything out.” He urged for “cooler, more logical heads” to prevail, criticizing the anti-Canadian narrative as “neither grounded in logic nor supported by facts.”

The broader Vermont economy, which welcomes 750,000 Canadian tourists annually, injecting $150 million, faces similar risks. Wright also echoed concerns from another witness, Emma Jagaz of Moon Valley Farm, about the need for small and medium-sized businesses to thrive for regional economic health and food security. “Our national security depends on regionally based food security,” Jagaz testified, a sentiment Wright applied to tourism-dependent communities.

Looking Ahead

Jay Peak faces a precarious future. Workforce reductions are already underway, and the resort is exploring strategies to manage rising costs without alienating its Canadian base. Wright remains an optimist—a necessity in an industry reliant on fickle weather and remote locations—but he’s clear-eyed about the challenges. Affordable housing shortages and a diminishing workforce already strain the region; tariffs and strained international relations are burdens the Northeast Kingdom cannot afford.

As Wright boarded a plane to Washington, the last snowflakes of Jay Peak’s record 500-inch season were melting. With them, the resort’s economic stability and cultural ties to Canada are at risk of dissolving unless U.S. policies change. For now, Vermont’s border businesses wait, wondering when—or if—the promised upside of these tariffs will materialize.