The tariff spat between the United States and Canada may be having an effect on cross-border travel.
Statistics Canada says the number of Canadians who returned to Canada from the U.S. by car last month was down 23% from February of last year, falling to 1.2 million. The number returning by air was down 2.4% to 1.8 million.
“It doesn’t surprise me that we’re seeing a reduction in discretionary travel to the States,” Avery Campbell, the Director of Advocacy and Industry Relations for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors, told me.
Given that people usually book their air tickets well in advance and might not to cancel for fear of costly penalties, Campbell said he expects Canadian air travel numbers to the States will start dropping in the coming months.
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The U.S. Travel Association earlier this year said even a 10% drop in the number of Canadians visiting the States would mean the loss of $2.1 billion in spending and the loss of 14,000 jobs.
Flight Centre Travel Group Canada recently said leisure bookings to American cities from Canada fell 40% in February when compared to the same month in 2024. The group also said one in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months.
Flight Centre’s Amra Durakovic said the low Canadian dollar is also a factor in the drop in numbers of Canadians wanting to visit the States.
It’s not just Canadians who seem to be crossing the border less. Stats Can says the number of U.S. trips to Canada by car last month were down 7.9%, falling to 676,800. That marks the first year-over-year decline observed since March 2021.
U.S. resident air trips to Canada were down 1.3%, dropping to 228,000.
Air trips to Canada by residents of countries other than the US was way down, falling 16.8% (to 240,000), and that’s a troubling figure for the Canadian tourism industry.
“While February saw a softening of numbers as a result of the uncertainty in the trade relationship between the United States and Canada, we are hopeful that it will be short-lived and visitor numbers will continue to grow as they have over the past two years,” the Tourism Industry Association of Canada said in an email. “As an industry, it is essential that we continue to showcase Canada as an open and welcoming destination – ready to welcome visitors from around the world with warm hospitality and unforgettable experiences.”
