A popular golf course in Point Roberts is banking on Canadians when it reopens on April 18. Read More
Golf course GM Tracy Evans has been talking to border officials hoping to ensure Canadians feel as welcomed as possible. “There are no tariffs on golf,” she said.
Golf course GM Tracy Evans has been talking to border officials hoping to ensure Canadians feel as welcomed as possible. “There are no tariffs on golf,” she said.
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A popular golf course in Point Roberts is banking on Canadians when it reopens on April 18.
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The Bald Eagle Golf Course, now renamed the Point Roberts Golf and Country Club, will need the support of Canadians if it hopes to stay in business.
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But will they come?
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Course general manager Tracy Evans is hoping Canadian golfers will exempt Point Roberts from their American travel boycott, which is tanking Canadian tourism to the U.S.
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If bookings at the revamped golf course are any indication, it looks like Point Roberts might be the exception to the trend of Canadians calling off travel to the States: “Friday is fully booked and 99 per cent of those bookings are from Canadians. It’s the most Canadians in one day I’ve seen ever,” said Evans.
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The 18-hole, par 72, 6,800 yard course, famed for its proximity to local wetlands and forest, and a thriving population of eagles, deer, ducks, turtles, raccoons and otters, shut down during COVID-19, briefly reopened in 2022, and has now been completely refurbished.
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“There are no tariffs on golf,” said Evans, who has been talking to border officials hoping to ensure Canadians feel as welcomed as possible.
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Point Roberts, an American “exclave” — a territory that belongs to one country but is surrounded by the land of another country — is uniquely dependent on Canada, and feels Canadian in more ways than one, said Brian Calder, a member of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce.
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“Fifty per cent of our residents are dual citizens, 70 per cent of our properties are owned by British Columbians and 90 per cent of our economy comes from Canada,” said Calder, who called the newly revamped golf course “pristine.”
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Point Roberts depends on Canada for electricity and potable water, and Calder has been actively lobbying the B.C. government for an exemption from retaliatory tariffs.
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Calder, who has dual American and Canadian citizenship, said the town’s 1,000 or so residents have been feeling the blowback of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, and the town has taken an economic hit.
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“With the political rhetoric denigrating Canadians and Donald Trump insulting the integrity of their statehood, I don’t blame Canadians for being angry. I’m just hoping they aren’t angry at us in Point Roberts.”
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The removal of the consumer carbon tax in Canada has closed the gap in fuel costs, and there has been a drop in cross-border shoppers, said Calder.