Michael Johal, a Delta, B.C., resident, has chosen to spend spring break at a beach resort in Parksville, north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

"Staying in the country, saving our money, spending money locally, that's what we wanted to do," Johal told CBC News while boarding a ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo with his wife and their two young sons.

"We don't want to go outside the country at all."

Johal said his decision stems from rising tensions between Canada and the U.S., as well as repeated t…