Flocking south: Canadians spending loonies in Maine

BANGOR – Before Joanne Carroll left Chili’s Grill & Bar for lunch on Saturday, she had to stop and say “hello” to three friends scattered at different tables throughout the restaurant.

After lunch, Carroll set her sights on the Bangor Mall. While shopping for overalls for her son in Sears, she stumbled across a man from her hometown.

If she lived in Greater Bangor, the encounters would not seem unusual, but Carroll hails from Saint John, New Brunswick.

“I don’t think there is anyone else left down there,” Carroll said. “We’re all here.”

And here they were.

Red sale signs hung in store windows advertising clearance events this weekend, and Canadian license plates nearly outnumbered those with the chickadee. In fact, only one vacant hotel room remained on Saturday night in six of the city’s major hotels.

“I guarantee every port is going to show an increase in numbers for the border crossing,” said Andrew Seder, a supervisory officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protections in Houlton.

On Saturday, 1,249 vehicles passed through the Houlton crossing into the U.S., while 1,461 came over on Nov. 10 during the Canadian holiday, he said. In Calais, about 2,200 came across the Ferry Point Bridge on Nov. 10, and 1,400 entered through the Milltown point of entry, according to Herm Gadway, supervisory officer with CBP in Calais. On Saturday, 2,100 crossed at Ferry Point and 900 in Milltown, he said.

In the six years that Seder has worked at the Houlton border, the recent Canadian traffic by far has been the heaviest, he said. He also mentioned a significant increase in tour buses crossing, many on shopping trips.

As the Canadian dollar remains strong, hovering nearly at par with the U.S. dollar, many of Maine’s neighbors to the north said they wanted to take advantage of Bangor’s low prices, wide selections and cheaper gasoline. In April, the Canadian government even raised the limit from $200 to $400 in merchandise residents could bring across the border before being taxed. If their stay spans more than seven days, then $750 is allowed.

“Name-brand clothes are half-price [here] compared to home,” said Pam Kennedy, 37, of Fredericton, New Brunswick. “Because the Canadian dollar is so strong, the prices are a lot lower and even the gas prices are still a bargain for us. Everyone was racing to the border in Woodstock, [New Brunswick],” near Houlton.

Kennedy’s son Jason, 10, sported his newest purchase as he entered Kohl’s in Bangor, a red New England Patriots sweat shirt. His sisters Amanda, 11, and Christine, 13, said their favorite name brands, like American Eagle and Aeropostale, either don’t exist or are too pricey back home.

Bangor’s retail centers annually attract Canadian shoppers during the holiday season, but most store owners say this year’s volume far surpasses years past.

“If not for the Canadians, we would be way down,” said Rafi Jacobi, owner of Bangor Subs & Deli and Creative Image, both located in the mall. “About 50 percent of [those buying] are Canadian.”

Americans are still window shopping, probably waiting for the sales on Black Friday, Jacobi said. Blame it on the gas prices or the economy, but Americans are not buying, he said.

On the other side of the border, though, Canadian stores are suffering, Carroll said. She works for Sears Canada, and the malls in town are deserted, she said. With gas prices hovering around $1.05 a liter (close to $4 a gallon), she said, it still makes sense to drive to Maine to shop and fill up before crossing the border back home.

While many Maine stores are benefiting from the influx of shoppers, Carroll said most would not accept Canadian currency.

“Calais will take the Canadian money, but in Bangor I would never chance it,” said Carroll, who exchanged cash at her bank before crossing into Maine.

When Jacobi was asked if he accepts the Canadian dollar at his stores, he replied with a laugh, “We would be a fool not to.”

While in Portland on a shopping tour with Ambassatours, Freda Reid of Halifax, Nova Scotia, said nobody would accept Canadian currency. On Saturday, Reid’s bus with 28 shoppers on board stopped at the Burlington Coat Factory in Bangor before returning home.

“They would take Canadian currency when it wasn’t worth anything, but now, forget it,” Reid said.