Canadian Travel to U.S. Drops 17% in March Amid Trump Trade War, $20.5 Billion in Spending at Risk
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Cross-border travel from Canada to the United States saw a sharp decline in March 2025, with nearly 900,000 fewer travellers compared to the same month last year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show total crossings dropped to 4,105,516 from 4,970,360 in March 2024, a 17% year-over-year decrease and the lowest monthly total since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Land crossings were particularly affected, with 3,183,009 people arriving at ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. land border, down from 4,093,973 in March 2024. Passenger-vehicle and pedestrian crossings were down roughly 26%, while truck crossings increased by 6%. Statistics Canada reported that Canadians returning from the U.S. by automobile fell almost 32%, to 1,453,842 from 2,134,069 a year earlier. Air travel by Canadians to the U.S. declined by about 13.5%. Canadian foot crossings dropped 26%, from 162,600 to 120,800.
The downturn has been linked to heightened tensions between the two countries, including President Donald Trump's trade war, the imposition of tariffs, and rhetoric referring to Canada as the '51st state.' Canada has responded with counter-tariffs, and a Canadian travel advisory warns of increased scrutiny and possible detentions at U.S. ports of entry.
The decline in Canadian visitors is impacting the U.S. tourism sector. In 2024, Canadian visitors spent $20.5 billion in the U.S., supporting an estimated 140,000 jobs. Industry groups warn that a sustained drop of more than 30% in Canadian tourism could result in over $6 billion in lost revenue and threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs in tourism and related sectors. Airlines have reduced capacity on routes between Canada and the U.S., with Air Canada cutting April capacity by 63,000 seats, WestJet by 12,000, and Flair Airlines and Air Transat collectively cutting 30,000 seats. Canadian airline bookings to the U.S. for summer are down 70%.
Border communities and duty-free retailers are also affected, with some reporting sales down 40-50% compared to last year. Meanwhile, Canadians have shifted more of their spending to domestic destinations. The number of U.S. residents visiting Canada by car also declined by 10.6%. Overseas visitor numbers to the U.S. fell by 11.6% in March, with European arrivals down 17%, and arrivals from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia all experiencing declines.
At the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge, people continue to commute to and from nearby Reynosa, but at much slower rates than what was being reported a year ago. https://t.co/3P26LKQvgx
Nearly 900,000 fewer people from Canada crossed the border into the U.S. in March compared to the same month last year, according to the latest CBP data
According to the U.S. Travel Association, Canadian visitors spent $20.5 billion USstateside last year, supporting an estimated https://t.co/MZ9kHUS317
