Canadian tourism to the United States is collapsing in the wake of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to a new report, a find that comes after the U.S. president has imposed tariffs on and threatened to annex America’s northern neighbor.
The report, published by Statistics Canada, a government office, shows that Canadians made 1.7 million return trips by motor vehicle back into their country from the U.S. in July. That amounts to a 37% drop from July 2024.
Canadians were also found to be taking fewer flights to the U.S., with returning air travel to Canada down approximately 25% from July of the previous year. Conversely, American air travel to Canada grew, albeit by just 0.7%.
The findings come after months of poor relations between the Trump White House and Ottawa. Earlier this year, Trump proposed the annexation of Canada, along with instituting steep tariffs on Canadian goods, making the once allies into frosty neighbors. This state of affairs has led some Canadian travel agents to advise their clients against traveling to the U.S., particularly as some tourists have found themselves detained by ICE.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
The decline in travel translates to a loss of billions of dollars in tourism-related revenue. With 20.4 million visits to the United States in 2024, Canadian tourism accounted for $20.5 billion in revenue and helped to support approximately 140,000 U.S. jobs, the U.S. Travel Association said in February.
The association, at the time, noted that a 10% decrease in Canadian travel “could mean 2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses.”
