Boycott has serious effects, but are the trends long-term? Above: Quebec’s Eastern Townships try to attract Canadian and American tourists.
Q. Do you travel to the U.S. these days?
I used to average about one trip a year – not enough to apply for an easy-entry Nexus card, I figured. Travel included regular summer road trips to Cooperstown, N.Y., to see ex-Expos inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A drive across Maine to visit New Brunswick and P.E.I. Family graduations and weddings in Baltimore, Providence and Philadelphia. And a retirement trip landing in Las Vegas then motoring on through central California to the Bay Area and the Pacific coast.
But we have done no such U.S. travelling since 2024. This has not been deeply ideological; we’ve just followed the trend.
What do you think?
Recently I posed the question to friends and family. Some people were fiercely opposed to any travel to the U.S. as long as one individual remained in the White House. Talk of a “51st state” was a deal-breaker.
Others just shrugged, “What can you do?” Still others felt bound by their already-existing American business connections, U.S. family ties or Sunbelt properties.
At my Facebook page, one poster was outraged that I would even consider driving to Buffalo recently to catch a Canadiens playoff game (I watched it on TV). Others touted their two-year abstinence from America and their resolutely pro-Canadian holiday itineraries.
One “rational” respondent replied : “Trying to avoid the US but registered for NYC marathon with my son on Nov 1. I’m getting old so not sure I can wait until Trump is gone. I also rationalize with the fact that NY is anti Trump. Went to Paris Olympics for a week and loved it, but skipping LA Olympics because Trump will be there.”
Another noted: “My family and I used to catch Jays spring training and visit family in Florida. Never again! Last fall we visited Portugal. This year, spending our tourist dollars right here in Canada.”
Still others inserted the laugh emoji (whatever that means). Haha.
Boycott continues
The fact remains that Canadians are continuing to avoid travel to U.S., reports Statistics Canada.
The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. decreased 12.5 per cent from February 2025 to February 2026, marking the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year decline since a new U.S. President took office.
In April 2026, the number of Canadian residents returning from trips to the U.S. by vehicle or air was 30 per cent lower than the same month in 2024.
Canadian tourism contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 140,000 American jobs in 2024,. The U.S. Travel Association projected inbound international spending would fall 2.4 per cent in 2025. But they expect it to somehow rebound in 2026.
Professor Karen Chapple, director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, told the National Post that she has seen colleagues and students express a desire to avoid travel to the U.S. for meetings or conferences. “And so, you’re seeing this massive shift back to Zoom … meetings for work, travel, where you would have seen before people making trips and making trips to multiple U.S. cities at the same time.”
Research from the U of T’s School of Cities, based on cellphone activity data, found that Canadian visits to U.S. metropolitan areas have plummeted by 42 per cent.
(Somehow, exactly three American cities showed an increase, with Canadian visitor surges of between 21 and 35 per cent. Researchers are not sure why Gainesville Fla., Cleveland, Ohio, and Portland, Ore., alone have seen Canadians tourism shoot up, based on cellphone usage.)
Border towns impacted
Border towns near the Townships have suffered as much as anywhere.
Vermont saw one of the sharpest declines at more than 26 per cent, reports MSN. “For a state where Canadians have historically filled ski lodges, farmers’ markets, and roadside inns, that’s a serious disruption to everyday economic life. … The damage shows up in empty parking lots, vacant hotel rooms, and shuttered storefronts across 11 border states.”
Meanwhile, New York state has rolled out the welcome mat for Canadians through discounts and delegation work. The state lost 3.6 million tourists from Canada between 2024 and 2025. The North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, N.Y., launched TV ads in Ottawa and Quebec, alongside a “cross-border specials” web page to list perks and discounts for Canadians.
Among non-border states, California has been the most energetic in trying to convince Canadians that all is well. But its “California for Canadians” campaign last year, including discounts and one-time deals, didn’t work. Visit California, a tourism organization, noted that Canadian visits still fell 38 per cent in 2025.
Las Vegas was similarly affected by Canadian anti-tariff protests, and all the ingenuity of Sin City has not yet managed to turn the tide.
Returning the favour
Americans, at least liberal Americans, have not taken this boycott personally. In fact, many are choosing to redouble their anti-Trump efforts by travelling to Canada.
There have been huge increases in 2026 for U.S travel bookings at top Canadian sites, notably for Banff (+ 99 per cent) and Quebec City (+ 85 per cent).
Montreal and Ottawa have seen more modest 27 and 28 per cent jumps, respectively, in their seasonal bookings.
What about the Eastern Townships? Its proximity to the U.S, border should be ideal for day trips. The government body Tourism Eastern Townships indeed reports a 150 per cent increase in American visits to its website since 2024. This preceded a 7.3 per cent increase in tourism spending by U.S. tourists between May and September 2025.
Even given all the data above, will this U.S.-boycott movement last? Moral fervour is not forever, and holiday travel is obviously easier to boycott than food.
Imported American produce is often irreplaceable in grocery aisles. As UBC food analyst Dr. Kushank Bajaj says, “Many fruits and vegetables are harder to grow in the colder Canadian climate. On average, about 50 per cent of vegetables besides potatoes, and 75 per cent of fruits eaten in Canada, are imported”. Sales of U.S. alcohol have cratered because provincial boards banned their sale. Food is another story.
Travel-boycott boosters can still say: Message delivered. Time will tell if that effort prevails.
