It's been just the opposite with me here on the Wet Coast.
More and more I was getting "Do you have VISA or MasterCard? We don't like to use AMEX." when I presented my card. Then there were the other little "jabs" :

- when the company I work for had a dispute (later resolved in our favour) with a major partner, AMEX immediately cut off all our cards, even though there were no financial problems at the company.
- the fee for using my Gold Card kept going up and up.
- I travel to Cuba twice/year, and AMEX (like other cards issued by US institutions) is not accepted there at all.
- when I travel to Europe or Asia on business, the AMEX Card, which used to be the one card you could rely upon (even in places like northern Cameroon) is no longer accepted at many businesses.

Perhaps if there are others in Canada with similar experiences, they may have decided, as I did, to drop AMEX as a usable card, and make a little more room in the wallet for cards that work.

CB