Canadian Travel to US Drops Sharply in May 2025

Canadian travel to the United States has seen a consistent decline throughout the first half of 2025, with May showing a 24.2% drop in return trips by air and a 38.1% decrease in return trips by automobile compared to May 2024, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. This downturn is largely attributed to President Donald Trump's trade policies, including tariffs on Canadian goods and his controversial remarks about making Canada a 51st U.S. state, which have soured bilateral relations and dampened travel enthusiasm. Airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet have responded by reducing flight frequencies to U.S. destinations, reallocating capacity to domestic and other international markets like Europe, Asia, and Australia. Meanwhile, Canadian return trips from overseas countries increased by 9.8%, indicating Canadians are opting for alternative vacation destinations such as Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. U.S. residents traveling to Canada have also decreased, though more modestly, with an 8.4% decline in automobile arrivals and a 0.3% drop in air arrivals. Overall, this sustained decline in cross-border travel threatens significant economic impacts, including a potential $12.5 billion loss to the U.S. economy.