Many Canadians love travelling to Cuba, more than just a cheap destination, many love the people and the island, and consider the country their second home.
Approximately 539,000 Canadians visited Cuba in the 12-month period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025 — the most recent full reporting year available from Statistics Canada’s National Travel Survey.
Muskoka resident Tammy Gooding has been travelling to Cuba with her husband for 30 years. She has watched the country’s deterioration over the decades and says it is absolutely heartbreaking. “It’s just getting worse and worse and worse, buildings are crumbling and falling apart. Havana was such a beautiful, beautiful city and it’s in shambles, it’s just rubble.”
The Goodings were among the last Canadians to leave Cuba this month, before flights to Cuba were recently suspended due to fuel shortages.
She said Cubans are living in uncertain times. Lineups for food take hours, and sometimes they run out as they get closer to the front. Power outages last for days, and hospitals have no medicine or bandages. She said people often have to resort to the black market to get medical supplies, which cost them a small fortune given their low income.
“The Cuban people are always happy, and it doesn’t matter what they’re faced with, they’re so resilient, but you could sense that people were fearful of what was going to happen.” Gooding explained that the locals aren’t allowed in resort beach areas. Her voice breaks when she recalls their last day in Cuba. She said she saw security chasing away mothers with babies on their hips, begging for anything the tourists could give them, fearful of how bad things would get when Cuba completely runs out of fuel.
There are many factors that have contributed to severe shortages in basic necessities, medicine and fuel on the island. The country has been under a U.S.-imposed economic embargo since 1960; the island is under a rigid, state-dominated economy that has led to low productivity, weak incentives for innovation, and heavy bureaucracy. For decades, Cuba relied on subsidies from allies — first the Soviet Union, later Venezuela. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba was plunged into a severe depression known as the “Special Period.” More recently, Venezuela’s crisis sharply reduced oil and financial support. COVID and the dengue virus have also severely impacted the island’s healthcare and tourism sector, and U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to bring Cuba’s Communist regime to its knees, has threatened countries with economic penalties if they supply fuel (oil) to Cuba.
Gooding said that while there are some who criticize those who travel to Cuba and accuse them of supporting a communist regime, many visitors to the island take suitcases of supplies for the locals who rely on them.
Asked what she would like to see happen on the island, Gooding said: “I would like to see them have their freedom but maintain their culture. Let them build the island up to where it should be and where they have their freedom and culture, without having to lose that.” Gooding said many doctors and nurses work at resorts because that’s where the money is in the form of gifts and tips from tourists. She said the people of Cuba deserve better. At the same time, she said she would hate to see the U.S. take over the island and put up high-rises and westernize it.
Gooding said when flights resume, she intends to return to the island to support the locals. “Collectively, we make a difference. The worst thing we could do is not travel to Cuba. They need us more than ever right now.”
Gooding, like Huntsville resident Jenny Cressman, who has friends in Cuba and also plans to return, has written books about Cuba, organized writers’ retreats on the island, and has been visiting since 2009, believes the government of Canada should be helping the island.
The electricity grid is in tatters, with frequent and prolonged power outages. Cressman said many of the country’s resources have been directed to the resorts because they have been the driving force of the Cuban economy. “But that means that less resources are available for the people regarding fuel and food in particular. So most hospitals, like most resorts, are relying on generators, and if there is no fuel for the generators, that means vital life support machines will cease to function, and therefore that will cause death. It’s very dyre and I do think that Canada could be doing more to support this humanitarian crisis.”
Cressman said the rural areas of Cuba have been suffering for years, and the suffering is getting worse. She said changes need to be made in how the country is governed, “and it’s not for me to say what that is or how that happens. I think that needs to come from the people of Cuba themselves. Some people are calling for what they would consider a full regime change, and some are suggesting that Trump is the best option for that, but I don’t agree. I think that is dangerous, and I don’t know what the best solution is, but again, as I said, I think the change itself needs to come from the Cuban people… but I think at this time, the most important thing is that Canada and other countries step up and find a way to supply humanitarian aid throug an equitable means of distribution.” Cressman said that’s going to be the challenge because aid is often sent to places like Havana, but it doesn’t reach the far ends of the island.
“Even getting supplies there is difficult because of the lack of fuel. So yes, fuel is one of the big things that needs to happen. Even if humanitarian aid is sent, it needs to have some kind of means of distribution to get to places that are most in need,” added Cressman.
In terms of Trump’s threat to nations that would send fuel to Cuba, Cressman asked: “At what point do we stand up to a bully who is putting people’s lives at risk?” She said she does not believe the government of Cuba will easily step aside or compromise, “so how many people will die before something different starts to happen in Cuba?”
In the meantime, Cressman said steps like those taken by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to support Cuba through humanitarian aid and to offer to serve as a refuelling stop for airlines flying to Cuba are important.
She also called the sitution hearbreaking. “It’s heartbreaking not only because it’s difficult to find ways to help, but it’s difficult to see what a long-term solution might be.”
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I love Cuba they have helped all over the world we should help them back
Agreed. Cuba needs regime change. Peaceful transition to open orderly free Multi party elections. Economic reforms. A vibrant small business sector. But it’s Cubans who must make this happen. No one else. Outside interference is a threat to their sovereignty. Trump doesn’t care about his own people, it is folly to think his motives are to aid ordinary Cubans.
What stands out to me is how quickly this becomes a simple blame debate. Governance failures in Cuba are real. Decades of centralized control have weakened the economy and limited resilience. But external pressures are real too, including more than 60 years of embargo, the loss of outside subsidies, COVID’s collapse of tourism, and now serious fuel shortages affecting an already fragile grid.
For Canadians, the more useful question is not just who caused this. It is what role we should play. Canada has historically taken a more independent approach to Cuba than the U.S., which gives us room to act thoughtfully. That does not mean ignoring governance problems or writing blank cheques. It means focusing on practical humanitarian support and making sure aid, if sent, actually reaches hospitals and rural communities.
We can acknowledge policy failures and still care about ordinary people. The Cuban people deserve dignity, not to be reduced to someone else’s political argument.
Castro led Cuba to this ….it could have been Vegas in the Caribbean . Communism does not work !
How true this is!
I hope the Cubans get the help they need.
Its inhumain with what is happening to them.
Joanne
“Heartbreaking.”because of the failure and stupidity of the Cuban Communist Government, simple as that..
It’s interesting that Canadian airlines stopped flying to Cuba but American and European airlines are still operating with tourists supporting Cuba and enjoying the beach.
If Canadians want to fly to Cuba they have to connect through the US.
10 flights a day from Miami for example.
“The small handful of U.S. airlines flying to Cuba continue to do so despite the ongoing fuel shortage that is causing Canadian carriers to cut schedules to the island. Both Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines confirmed to TMR on Wednesday that they are operating their flight schedules to Cuba, albeit significantly smaller than those of Air Canada and Transat, without interruption. American Airlines, which operates roughly 10 daily roundtrip flights between Miami International Airport and Havana, told the Miami Herald on Monday that it is “closely monitoring the situation” and, according to flight schedules, has continued its full schedule of flights.”
“Some European airlines have reportedly begun to add stops to previously non-stop flights to Cuba, to allow for refueling. Air France reportedly has added a refueling stopover in the Bahamas, while other European carriers are said to be landing for fuel in the Dominican Republic before completing their journey to Cuba.”
Too bad Canadian travellers on Canadian airlines had their trip cancelled. They could have been given the choice of their vacation on the beach with little power or to cancel. Most would stay on the beach. No oil or power needed.
Their tourist dollars are appreciated in Cuba. Canadian tourists there report power and water is available at the resorts. At this point anyway. The only issue is hot water is not always available.
It’s interesting that Cuba is getting around the American blockade of oil from Venezuela with much cheaper solar power and electric vehicles.
Poor countries can’t afford expensive ICE vehicles, unreliable grid power and fossil fuels.
So they are going solar and EVs.
Countries like Cuba, Nepal, Nigeria and Kenya.
Not fast enough but that’s the future.
93% of new power in the US and the rest of the world is solar and storage. Because it’s the cheapest and most reliable source of power now. Not just to save the planet.
Energy independence is another reason to go solar, batteries and EV. More hurricane resistant. “China is helping Cuba solve power blackouts by donating solar park parts and supplies, aiming to generate over 2,200 megawatts this year.” 2.2 GW is most of the 3.3 GW peak demand in Cuba.
“Due to chronic fuel shortages, soaring gas prices, and the need for easier maintenance, Cuba is increasingly converting and replacing old, classic cars with electric alternatives. Between 2020 and 2022, local industries produced over 23,000 electric vehicles, including scooters and three-wheeled trucks, to address the transportation crisis.”
Classic cars from the 50s converted to cheap to run and far easier and cheaper to maintain electric.”
“Cuba’s fuel crisis forces shift to electric tricycles and bicycle taxis”
“Cubans turn to electric cars during oil blockade”
“How Chinese aid fast-tracks solar farms in Cuba under Trump’s renewed sanctions”
Nepal is considered a poor country but “As of mid-2025, electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for approximately 73% to 76% of all new passenger car sales in Nepal, marking one of the highest adoption rates in the world.”
Most can’t afford an ICE vehicle or the fuel to put in it.
“Nigeria is experiencing a significant solar energy boom, becoming Africa’s second-largest importer of solar technology as households and businesses abandon expensive diesel generators for reliable, cheaper off-grid power. Driven by 2025–2026 spikes in fuel costs and grid instability, solar adoption is accelerating, with solar-plus-battery systems increasingly providing 24/7 electricity. “”Solar, paired with falling battery storage costs is now often cheaper than the national grid”
“Nigeria has overtaken Egypt to become the second-largest solar importer in Africa, with imports of photovoltaic panels surpassing 1,700 mw by mid-2025.””The sector is expected to continue growing as, over a five-year period, solar power cost savings significantly outweigh initial investment costs.”
“Nigeria and Kenya lead production of electric vans using Chinese kits”
“Cuba-Bound Tanker Carrying Russian Fuels to Test Trump Blockade” We will see if Trump interferes with this tanker of diesel for generators and transportation. If so Russia and China could fly limited amounts of diesel to Cuba.China could accelerate the completion of solar power projects. Installed in weeks not years.