If you’re a Canadian thinking of staying home for your holidays this year, or if you’re an American thinking of taking advantage of the low Canadian dollar and coming north for a summer vacation, you might want to fire up your laptop or start scrolling on your phone.
With many Canadians swearing off trips to the United States because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and with a resulting great rise in “Buy Canadian” sentiment, travel industry officials say they’re already seeing an increase in interest. And in prices.
Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Travel Group in Canada, told me today (March 18) that the group’s travel experts are seeing growing demand for summer trips closer to home.
“Whether it’s hiking through Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, whale-watching at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, or exploring wildlife and canoeing in Jasper and Banff, Alberta, Canada offers incredible travel experiences for every type of traveller—at every budget,” she said
But she added that Canadian tours are booking up fast, as are car rentals (specifically on the East Coast).
Prices also seem to be quite high. I went on Expedia.ca today and looked for a car rental in Halifax for July 6 to 13, 2025. The cheapest I could find was a whopping $964. For that same week in Charlottetown, PEI, it was $952.
Mind you, if you want a rental car in Halifax for a week in November, you can get one for $552; a savings of $400 but with slightly less attractive weather conditions.
Jason Sarracini from Landsby, a company that offers great experiences all across Canada, told me that requests from Canadians for rail trips like VIA Rail’s “The Canadian” and “The Ocean” are up at least 25% in 2025 versus the same last year.
Canadians are increasingly sounding off about keeping their hard-earned dollars north of the border for 2025 holidays, and perhaps even beyond.
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Jim Byers Photo
“With everything going on in the United States at the moment, it doesn’t sit well with me to be putting our hard-earned money into their economy,” Michelle Gardner, a B.C. resident who recently cancelled a U.S. spring break trip, told CBC News. “In the next four years, we will be looking at spending our money here and exploring all that Canada has to offer.”
The CBC said at least eight provinces and territories told them they’ve seen increased interest from Canadian tourists in recent months. Some tourism authorities are seeking to take advantage of the “Buy Canadian” trend by launching domestic ad campaigns.
Nova Scotia’s tourism board told the network it’s readying a new campaign to “entice and inspire” travel to the province by “leveraging existing sentiment around Canadian vacations.”
Nova Scotia operators are already reporting increased summer bookings, the board said.
Destination Northern Ontario recently issued a press release urging Canadian tourists to enjoy a “staycation” to help battle Trump’s tariffs.
“Tourism is a significant contributor to Ontario’s GDP and tax revenue, and it employs one in four people in our region,” said David MacLachlan, executive director for Destination Northern Ontario, in the release. “By supporting our local tourism industry, we can mitigate the impacts of external factors and ensure a thriving economy for Northern Ontario.”
Attracting Canadians is nice, but tourism operators understand that foreign visitors, especially those from overseas, tend to stay longer and spend more money than locals. The incoming market from China has been especially slow to recover in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto.
Still, the Trump tariffs have seemingly provided a solid boost in Canadian pride, and an equally solid boost in the number of Canadians who want to spend their vacations in the True North Strong and Free this year. If you’re in any way connected to Canadian tourism, that is a beautiful thing.
