The travel decline started at the beginning of the year and has continued into the summer.
Preliminary data from the Canadian government suggests the number of Canadians visiting the United States by car declined year over year for the seventh straight month in July.
Canadian residents returning to the country from the United States via car declined by nearly 37% compared to July 2024, according to Statistics Canada. Road trips typically account for the majority of Canadians traveling to the United States. Return trips by air also declined nearly 26% year-over-year, while Canadian residents returning from overseas countries increased.
Canadians started boycotting United States travel and American goods in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and expressed desire to make the neighbor to the north the 51st state, Business Insider previously reported.
On August 1, Trump raised tariffs on Canada to 35% for goods that don’t fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trump said Canada had failed to secure its border and crack down on drug trafficking.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said most goods fall under the USMCA. On Friday, he said 85% of Canada’s trade with the United States was “tariff-free.” However, according to US Census Bureau Data, about 38% of Canadian goods, when measured by value, entered the United States under USMCA in 2024.
Canadians told Business Insider earlier this year they were boycotting the United States to protest Trump’s policies and that the situation had led to a surge in national pride.
Travel companies have previously said Canadians were opting for Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean instead of the United States.
A recent survey by Longwoods International, a market research consultancy focused on the travel tourism industry, found Canadian sentiment has remained icy toward the United States. The survey, which polled 1,000 Canadian adults in July, found that 63% said United States government policies made them less likely to visit the country.
It also found that while 84% of respondents believed the United States was full of attractions, only 36% felt it was welcoming to travelers from diverse backgrounds.
