‘There’s gonna be problems’: Trade war another roadblock for Sask outfitters

The hunting guide from Aberdeen has been in the industry since 2007. He started his own outfit, No Fly Zone, in 2016. In the years that followed, his business saw phenomenal growth thanks to a strong US economy. Then COVID hit.

“So, it’s basically been an uphill battle until this last year when the political situation in the United States seemed to favour some growth. And now, we’re having the trade wars, which has basically backed everything right back down to difficult.”

The majority of outfitters paNOW spoke to, including Prosak, said the majority of their customers are American. He tried to diversify his clientele by attracting European hunters, but that didn’t work out as planned since his clients can’t get their hunting trophies back into their home countries.

“So, I literally have about $80,000 worth of clients that I just found out cannot receive their Sandhill Crane mounts back into Europe anywhere, so I just lost a pile of groups from Europe when I was trying to get out of the US market of customers and diversify.”

Even if he does regain some American bookings despite the trade war, Prosak is concerned about how the people he works with back home may react.

“There’s gonna be problems not just for booking people but also for getting land access from farmers who are upset with the trade war and upset with the US. So, there’s gonna be issues there with the land access once the hunters do get here,” he said.

On top of the trade war, Prosak said outfitters in Saskatchewan took a hit when they had to start collecting a 6 per cent provincial sales tax in 2022.

“I also have a horseback ranch by Prince Albert at Sturgeon River Park where we ride into the Prince Albert National Park and so 6 per cent on top of all those rides and all the hunts is a huge chunk and you know, without being booked full and with all the problems, I haven’t been able to raise prices. So, I mean, you watch the economics of outfitting and it’s just not great.”

Prosak said there are definitely some outfitters that are in better situations than him; they’ve been in the business longer and have more returning customers or they picked better trade shows to promote their businesses at.

“So, I can’t say that everyone is in the same boat. However, its undeniable that there’s gonna be problems.”

Roy Anderson is the acting CEO of the Saskatchewan Commission of Professional Outfitters (SCPO). He said he’s only had a handful of concerns from outfitters and it’s a little too early to talk about any potential impacts.

“Its on our radar and we’re keeping an eye on things, but the season is going to start pretty quick and most of the packages that would have been purchased for spring bear hunting for example, would have been purchased a while ago,” Anderson said. “We’re only two weeks out from the season. I don’t think there’s any knee jerk reactions right now, is my perspective.”

However, Anderson did say Americans are key to the business. He explained that 75 per cent of Saskatchewan outfitters have 90 per cent of their clients coming from the United States.

“So, this is an export industry. The industry is dependent upon Americans to come up here and purchase these outfitters’ experiences. So, that’s a critical factor and anything that influences that is a concern to us but there are a whole bunch of factors that influence that in addition to maybe sentiment.”

He suggested outfitters take the opportunity to reach out to clients, provide them with assurances and ensure that there’s ‘balanced expectations from both sides.’

“This is an industry built on relationships.”

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

by Teena Monteleone

‘There’s gonna be problems’: Trade war another roadblock for Sask outfitters

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