Tariff Tussle: Alaska Senator Threatens to Stop Cruise Ships Coming to B.C.

Repercussions from a trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. are making waves in the cruise industry, with Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan threatening to lobby for a new law or executive order that would allow cruise ships to bypass Canadian ports on their way to Alaska.

Sullivan had strong words about British Columbia legislation that would grant the province the ability to impose new fees on U.S. commercial trucks heading to Alaska, in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products.

“Two can play this game,” said the Senator on a radio broadcast. “Canada, you don’t want to mess with Alaska. And if you do, we are going to work hard on having our cruise ships bypass your ports, and that will help our economy tremendously. They’re playing a dangerous game here, and I hope they back down.”

Under U.S. law, foreign-flagged cruise ships departing and returning to the same U.S. port for Alaska must make a stop outside the U.S. On the Alaska route, that means Canada.

Foreign-flagged ships make up the vast majority of the larger vessels that ply the Alaska route, from brands including Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, NCL and others. There are smaller-ship options on U.S. flagged ships, but they are a tiny part of the overall traffic. An exemption to the law was created during COVID pandemic travel restrictions, but has since expired.

The Canadian Press reported that B.C. Premier David Eby wasn’t surprised by Sullivan’s comments.

“I understand that Alaskans might feel anxious about the idea of an additional charge on trucks going from Washington state to Alaska. But we need Alaskans to send a message to Donald Trump about how intertwined we are, about the connections between our economies. We don’t want to use this tool. We like Alaskans. We think they’re great. We like Americans. We think they’re great. They’ve just got a lousy president.”

Last Thursday, B.C.’s government announced a bill that would deliver emergency powers to respond to unexpected economic threats and tariffs from the Trump White House.

Sullivan said in his radio show appearance that preventing cruise ships from stopping in B.C. ports would cost Western Canada billions of dollars in tourism revenue.“Trade wars only hurt people,” Edy replied. “They don’t benefit anybody. This is our message to Donald Trump. It’s our message to all Americans. We don’t want this fight. We didn’t sign up for it, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to arm ourselves.”