Canadians flock to abroad journey as U.S. boycott deepens

The journey boycott of the United States marked a brand new milestone in January, with extra Canadian residents getting back from journeys abroad than re-entering by automobile from the U.S.

It was the primary time exterior of the pandemic lockdown interval that Canadian journey overseas outpaced floor journeys to the U.S. since a minimum of 1972, when Statistics Canada started preserving data, the agency said.

In January, 1.5 million Canadian residents returned from abroad, a bounce of 10.6 per cent from the identical month a 12 months earlier. By distinction, the variety of residents crossing again into Canada from the U.S. by car fell 26.3 per cent to 1.3 million over the identical interval.

The whole variety of Canadians getting back from the U.S. in January, together with by air and boat, continues to be increased than abroad journey, however is additionally falling – whole return journeys from the U.S. in January dropped 22 per cent from the 12 months earlier than.

The journey boycott, which took maintain in early 2025 in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and his rhetoric concentrating on Canadian sovereignty, has resulted in 13 consecutive months of year-over-year declines in journey to the U.S.

American tourism sizzling spots have taken discover of the lacking Canadians of their resorts and eating places. Canada is the most important supply of worldwide tourism to the U.S. and in 2024, travellers from Canada generated US$20.5-billion in spending and supported 140,000 jobs, in line with the U.S. Travel Association.

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A brand new research revealed by the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research estimated that by mid-2025, U.S. markets most uncovered to the drop in Canadian journey skilled employment declines of about 6 per cent at small companies within the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, relative to companies in much less uncovered markets.

“The U.S.-Canada case illustrates a channel of harm that trade policy debates often overlook,” wrote the research’s authors, economics professors André Kurmann at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Étienne Lalé at York University and Julien Martin on the Université du Québec à Montréal. “Geopolitical tensions can deter foreign visitors and hit the economy fast. Such shocks strike specific places and non-tradable sectors that may find it difficult to absorb the blow.”

The sharp drop-off in southbound journey has prompted tourism officers from a number of states to plead with Canadians to return.

In Las Vegas, the place the newest statistics from Harry Reid International Airport present the variety of passengers arriving on WestJet and Air Canada flights plunged 25.2 per cent in 2025 from the 12 months earlier than, some casinos have provided to simply accept the Canadian greenback at par.

Last month, a pair of U.S. senators – one a Democrat from Nevada and the opposite a Republican from Kansas – launched the USMCA Travel and Tourism Resiliency Act to push the Trump administration to determine a journey and tourism working group as a part of the upcoming overview of the North American commerce deal.

What’s unclear is whether or not the persevering with Iran warfare and surging gasoline prices, which have resulted in steeper airline ticket costs, will deter Canadians from travelling abroad and immediate them to remain nearer to dwelling.