The Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York, Wants Canadians Back

In a bygone era, upstate New York was a Canadian’s paradise. We spent our slightly weaker dollar in its casinos and outlet malls, picked up fatty, foreign delicacies at Target, trolled Americans at away games and drank in the majesty of Niagara Falls from a different angle. Then, well, we all know what happened: Trump tried to coerce Canada into submission with tariffs, tapped into our expertly suppressed national rage and cut off a steady supply of southbound tourists, jeopardizing the economies of several American border towns. Life comes at you fast.

Robert Restaino, the mayor of Niagara Falls, New York, is so, so sorry—really. He’s watched as Canadian manufacturers have scrapped contracts in his city, and as its hotels and bars have emptied of uber-polite patrons. (The number of Canadians entering New York state dropped by one-fifth in 2025.) Like other border-adjacent mayors in Blaine, Washington, and Burlington, Vermont, Restaino now has his olive branch permanently extended, hoping that a new $200-million events centre will at least entice our sports fans back to his side of the Falls. An America without Canadians isn’t one he wants to imagine.

Understatement of the century: it’s a messy time to be a politician in America. Few are feeling the pain more than mayors in border towns. What new challenges cropped up for you after the trade war kicked off?
As we were coming out of COVID, a bunch of Canadian light-manufacturing companies were interested in setting up in Niagara County because of the renewable-energy incentives we offer. Many of them no longer feel comfortable planting their flag here; some worried there’d be difficulties getting employees across the border. Even so, my relationships with elected officials in Ontario haven’t changed. The minute the trade flap started in Washington, I made a point of reaching out to Mayor Jim Diodati in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for those calls.
During the Canada-U.S. hockey showdown at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Jim and I made one of our friendly bets. He typically wagers grade-A Canadian maple syrup, and I do chicken wings. As two cities separated by a river, we wanted to show that none of the trade nonsense was going to affect our bond.

Tourist season is well underway. Does it feel like it on your side of the Falls?
As a matter of fact, yes. The kickoff was great: we had higher hotel occupancy this April year over year. And, this past weekend, I drove past the outlet mall—you would’ve thought it was Christmastime!

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I have fond memories of taking summer trips to your malls (and Applebee’s) as a teen. Every licence plate in the parking lot was from Ontario. That can’t be the norm now, right?
It would be inappropriate to suggest that there hasn’t been a visible fall-off. My wife, Diana, and I make a point to get out in the community. All of the lounges, bars and restaurants used to have a bit of a crowd; that’s different now. The Canadians who do come are typically from close by—less so from the Greater Toronto Area and places farther out. There is also this… abrasive feel.

As in, Canadians and Americans don’t know how to act around each other anymore?
No one’s ready to throw fists, but there’s an awkwardness that didn’t exist before. They say not to talk about certain topics, like religion and politics, at holiday dinners. The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has become one of those. And, look, I can’t be everybody’s father—there are things some Americans say that I wish they wouldn’t. But, in Niagara Falls, we’re going out of our way to show you we want you to keep visiting.

In another time, I’d happily drive eight hours and sell my soul to see Oh, Mary! on Broadway. But, as a journalist, am I going to risk crossing right now? Hell no.
I used to get together for breakfast and dinner on a regular basis with some guy friends from Hamilton and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Lately, there are more calls about me going there.

It must be hard to get saddled with the consequences of your federal government’s choices when you don’t necessarily agree with all of them.
There were, perhaps, some international agreements—which have been in place for quite some time—that the U.S. needed to take a sharper look at, whether defence-related or economic. But to target Canada? I wouldn’t personally poke the eye of my best friend. Diplomacy doesn’t have to become insulting. Negotiations are only cranky if you make them cranky.

Without naming names, some people only have one speed, and that speed is cranky. Speaking of which, many lifelong Republicans are completely furious about how Trump’s tariffs have boomeranged back on them. And Senator Chuck Schumer called them “a dagger into the heart of upstate New York.” Niagara County typically goes red. Sensing any voter regret?
Last summer, I was at an event with Senator Schumer, where he talked about New York businesses that used to buy supplies from Canada; tariffs have created a mess for them. Some small local businesses have had to retool to avoid closing.

American tourism authorities have handled Canadians’ travel boycotts in different ways. In Gavin Newsom’s California, they’re sucking up with “California Loves Canada” ads that claim the state wouldn’t be as beautiful and full-bodied (wine pun) without us. Destination Niagara, on the other hand, has pivoted their pitch almost exclusively to other Americans. Which is the smarter approach?
I want to put a fine point on this: Destination Niagara hasn’t neglected Canada. Your market used to be the lay-up; you’d see an immediate return on ad investment. To stabilize this new unpredictability, they carved out some of those dollars for the Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic regions, along with our Eastern Coast. And fewer Canadians are spending the weekend. So instead of trying to sell them on hotels, we’re trying to pitch specific reasons to be here—not game rooms and funhouses, but nature attractions. On our side, standing at Prospect Point, you can feel the power of the Falls in your chest. At the state park, we have a new virtual-reality “ride” that takes you over the Falls and under the river to see the fish.

Ah, scary fun. Can you at least still sell your Canadian relatives on weekend trips?
Our family cuts a large swath through the GTA—Niagara, St. Catharines, Woodbridge. To the extent that I get to take vacation, I love visiting them there. It’s fun to hear their metropolitan perspectives. Some are actually President Trump fans.

Give me their addresses.
During the Trudeau era, it was sort of, “the heck with all these Liberals.” They started listening to some of the populist messaging coming out of Washington. It’s “me first.” It’s MAGA—I don’t know what else to call it.

“Maple MAGA.”
It’s more a function of them not agreeing with what’s coming out of Ottawa than “let’s all put on the red hats because Trump’s the best thing going.” I had to laugh at Doug Ford’s reaction to Trump. In his press conferences, Ford was just egging him on.

A lot of Canadians would probably agree that they’re well-matched.
Ford understands the importance of the visual as much as the verbal. When I saw him dumping out whisky bottles, I chuckled. I thought, He’s showing everyone Canadians aren’t here to get kicked around. Ford’s kind of like that hockey player who knows how to get under others’ skins.

In Niagara, you’re moving forward on Centennial Park, a $200-million entertainment complex. It’s not explicitly a Canadian-catching recovery project, but it does have an arena. Is this an attempt to woo us back?
That’s certainly one reason for it. Centennial also gives Niagara the opportunity to create a year-round hospitality industry. We’ve never quite captured the late-fall and winter period. We have 10,000 hospitality workers, and up to half get laid off annually because of seasonality. I hope we can retain more of them, that they can go from being tenants to homeowners because they have full-time jobs. That wealth builds neighbourhoods; it builds cities.

Canadians do love a winter activity.
Early on in the project, we got a call from Bryan Crawford, the Ontario Hockey League commissioner. If expansion into New York state is of interest to the OHL, Niagara Falls is a pretty easy beachhead. There are 15 million people within two hours of the border, and 12 million are in Ontario. The arena is a good motivation for them to come back—not to mention the natural rivalries between our OHL teams.

Yes! Appeal to our petty side! That’ll do it.
It’s the same as when our folks go up to see the Blue Jays play. It’s like, “How dare they.”

You’ve said that, eventually, Trump and his cronies will have to admit the tariffs were a mistake. If that doesn’t happen—and I wouldn’t hold your breath—what will it take to mend fences?
Some not-so-rosy results in November’s midterm elections might make them re-examine things. But they’ll have to find a graceful way of recalibrating the relationship with Canada that doesn’t cause them to lose face. Saying “we’re wrong” isn’t in this administration’s vocabulary.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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