Peace Bridge duty-free shop goes into receivership amid plummeting traveller volumes

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A judge is ordering the duty-free shop at Canada’s second-busiest border crossing into receivership as it struggles to pay off millions of dollars in debt and overdue rent.

In a ruling earlier this month, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed a receiver for the Peace Bridge duty-free shop who is empowered to take control of the assets, oversee liquidation and repay creditors.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority claims the store owes it up to $17 million in unpaid rent going back years, while Royal Bank of Canada says $3.3 million in debt is outstanding.

The Niagara Region retailer says it owes less, but the total still sits in the millions.

Continuing to operate for now, the store’s financial troubles come as duty-free shops across the country suffer from plunging sales amid a sharp downturn in cross-border visits by Canadians as well as Americans.

Statistics Canada says the number of Canadians returning by car from the U.S. fell nearly 32 per cent last month compared with March 2024, the third consecutive month of year-over-year declines and the steepest plunge since the pandemic.