MAUI — The beach isn’t deserted, nor is the swimming pool. But the reality of what’s missing here in Hawaii is blatantly obvious. Given that tourism is this state’s largest industry, the damage is seen in closed shops and restaurants, and the absence of friends.

It is the latter that drives home the damage done to North American relations. While a majority of Eastern Canadians escape winter in Mexico, the Caribbean and Florida — the only other state boasting a tropical climate — we Westerners escape to Hawaii. Sadly, not many of us anymore.

On Maui, COVID and its restrictions — coupled with the wildfire that decimated Lahaina in 2023 — was a one-two punch. The knockout blow came with the U.S. president’s fit directed at Canada, and his outrageous and blatant assertions that Canada should become the 51st state.

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That launched the “elbows up” movement, which has resonated across the country.

The movement has manifested itself in many ways, but what is obvious is its effect on the tourism industry. Many Canadians —........

© Calgary Herald