Canadian Travelers Boycott: A Response to U.S. Policies

Fri Nov 14 2025 13:21:08 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Canadian travel to the U.S. declines sharply, citizens express their discontent with current American policies, opting for domestic tourism instead.

A notable decline in Canadian travelers to the U.S. is being driven by dissatisfaction with American political and trade policies, particularly under President Trump. Canadians are increasingly avoiding cross-border travel, leading to a significant drop in tourism revenue for popular U.S. destinations, while simultaneously boosting Canada's domestic tourism sector.

Kristy Gammon used to travel to the US from Canada at least once every other year, taking ski trips at Lake Placid in New York and travelling to Baltimore, Maryland, for her husband's favourite Orioles baseball games.

But those trips are now over, she said. This year, the Nova Scotia resident has avoided even passing through the US on her way to Ontario, a shortcut for an otherwise 18-hour drive.

Since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, the 62-year-old said she and most of her Canadian friends have decided to stop visiting the US as a way of protesting policies they oppose and trade actions Trump has taken against Canada.

There are so many things that we just feel aghast about in terms of how [the administration] is acting internationally, behaving toward their own citizens, how they're treating their allies and neighbours, i.e. Canada, Ms Gammon said.

Ms Gammon and her friends are part of a trend that shows no signs of slowing.

October marked the 10th straight month of decline in the number of Canadian travellers to the US. Air travel from Canada to the US dropped nearly 24%, while car travel fell more than 30% when compared to the same period last year, according to data released this week by Canada's statistics office.

Overall, the US has seen a 3.2% drop in international spending in the country, driven primarily by fewer visitors from Canada, according to the US Travel Association, a nonprofit group representing the American travel industry.

As relations between the two countries remain icy, mostly in response to new tariffs Trump has imposed, Canadians are apparently committed to giving their southern neighbours the cold shoulder.

In the past, Canadians have made up about a quarter of all international visitors to the US, spending over $20bn (£15.1bn) a year, according to the US Travel Association.

They began to curb their US travel after Trump imposed a series of tariffs on goods from the country earlier this year.

Canada is currently facing 35% tariffs on its goods - although most are exempt under an existing North American free trade agreement - as well as individual levies targeting particular industries like car and steel manufacturing.

Meanwhile, some popular tourist destinations in US have tried to buck the trend, attempting to entice Canadian travellers back to the US. In Kalispell, Montana, home to Glacier National Park, officials have been offering a Canadian Welcome Pass that includes deals and discounts at local businesses for those crossing the border.

Still, with Canadians choosing to travel closer to home, the country's own tourism industry has gotten a boost. Canada's tourism sector made a record-breaking C$59bn from May to August of 2025, up 6% from the same period last year, mostly because of people choosing to travel domestically, according to Destination Canada, a national tourism organisation.

They've completely changed their snowbird plans, the semi-retired family physician said. You can feel there's a shift.

Ms Gammon said she did not know if others would stick to boycotting the US for the remaining years of the Trump administration. But, even though she misses her US trips, that is her plan for now.