Canadian Boycott of U.S. Travel Grows Stronger, According to Latest Data

Massive Drop in Cross-Border Travel Hits Record Lows

According to early data from Statistics Canada, land trips from Canada to the U.S. dropped 35.2% in April 2025 compared to the same month last year.

Air travel also fell sharply—down nearly 20%. In total, 4.11m travellers crossed from Canada into the US (by air or land) in March 2025, compared to 4.97m in March 2024.

This represents the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year declines, showing the boycott momentum is building rather than slowing down. Already, Canada's statistical agency reported a 23% drop in Canadian car trips to the U.S.

last month compared with February 2024 and a 2.4% dip in residents' round-trip air travel.

Flight Bookings Plummet as Airlines Cut Routes

By March 2025, flight bookings to the United States from Canada had fallen by 71–76% in comparison with bookings in March 2024. Airlines responded to this decline in demand by cutting 320,000 seats from Canada-US flight routes by March, representing a 3.5% cutback for the summer months.

Travel agencies are feeling the heat too, with a Quebec-based travel agent specializing in travel to Disney and Universal destinations claims that her reservations dropped by 60% from February to March 2025. Some American travel agencies have even abandoned the Canadian market entirely due to plummeting demand.

Canadians View U.S. as Enemy Nation at Unprecedented Levels

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians now see the United States as an "unfriendly" or "enemy" country, according to a YouGov poll last month; the same poll found that 61% are boycotting American companies. According to the Leger poll conducted between February 14 and 17, 27 percent of Canadians now consider the U.S.

an enemy, while 30 percent still see it as an ally. Another 27 percent view it as neutral.

This shift represents a dramatic deterioration in public sentiment that goes far beyond typical political disagreements between neighbors.

Florida Tourism Industry Takes the Hardest Hit

According to Visit Florida's visitor estimates, nearly 3.3 million Canadians visited Florida in 2024, which was around 27% of all international travelers. However, the state is now experiencing significant declines.

A Visual Approach Analytics analysis showed that from January to March 27, two Florida airports – Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport – had the biggest decrease in monthly arrivals from Canadian airlines, at 20 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Fort Myers and Palm Beach are down 30 percent and 43 percent, respectively, compared to April schedules as they existed on January 1, 2025.

Local business owners are feeling the impact directly, with one Hollywood motel owner reporting 50% fewer Canadian guests this winter.

Economic Impact Could Reach $6 Billion in Losses

The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) said in February that a 10 percent reduction in tourism from Canada could put 140,000 jobs at risk and result in $2.1 billion in lost spending.

Forbes said that, using that calculation, a decline of 30 percent in Canadian visitors would cost the U.S. economy $6 billion in losses.

Canadians made an estimated 20.4 million visits to the U.S. last year, a number expected to rise by more than a million in 2025, according to the U.S.

Travel Association. But the industry group warned last month that even a 10% drop in those visits would cost $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 jobs.

These numbers don't account for the multiplier effect as businesses cut staff and reduce orders from suppliers.

Political Leaders Fuel the Boycott Movement

The boycott has received support from Canadian politicians, notably with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 1, 2025, calling on Canadians to "choose Canadian products and services rather than American ones" wherever possible. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, on a February 3rd appearance on Tout le monde en parle, also suggested to cancel or avoid travel to the US.

In February, 90% of Canadians claimed to follow the issue of the trade war closely, the highest level of engagement with a news item since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that government officials are actively encouraging the boycott signals this isn't just a temporary emotional response but a coordinated economic strategy.

The boycott shows no signs of slowing down, with many Canadians saying they'll avoid U.S. travel until the political climate improves.

What started as scattered cancellations has evolved into a full-scale economic protest that could reshape North American tourism for years to come. There is anecdotal evidence of some Canadian travellers cancelling trips even at the loss of their deposit.

For example, one Florida motel owner said that "I've seen a customer dropping a $1,000 deposit to choose to go to Cuba instead"; a woman from British Columbia even let go of a $5,000 CAD deposit to cancel a five-week vacation to Palm Springs, California.

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