Canadian Tourists Shun US Travel Amid Ongoing Trade Tensions
A year after President Donald Trump's return to office and his remarks about making Canada the 51st state, Canadian tourism to the United States has not recovered. According to Statistics Canada, in 2025 Canadians made 25% fewer return border crossings and spent about $2.4 billion (CA$3.3 billion) less on travel to the U.S. compared to the previous year.
The decline coincided with a weaker Canadian dollar that made traveling to the U.S. more expensive, as well as rising prices for airfares and hotels. However, there were tentative signs of improvement in May, June, and July, when border crossings picked up slightly. This uptick was largely due to the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S., Canada, and Mexico cohosted.
Despite these efforts, the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office estimates that during the first six months of 2026, Canadians made even fewer overnight visits than they did during the same period last year. The White House announced tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods just a day after the World Cup ended.
Some tourism officials remain optimistic about the potential for Canadian visitors to return, but others believe that the informal boycott may extend into another winter. Jennifer Adams, tourism director for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area in Florida's Panhandle, stated, 'the thing for us is to let the Canadian family know that they are welcomed here and we are committed to giving them a great experience when they get here.'