Travel boycott by Canadians hits US economy hard

What new polling revealed

The Canadian boycott of travel to the United States has seen a massive decrease in the number of Canadians willing to holiday south of the border since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025. However, new polling revealed just how bad things have gotten.  

How Trump upset Canada

Canadians have had little interest in traveling to the United States since Trump imposed a blanket tariff on all exports from Canada. The situation only got worse when he began openly musing about his deep desire to see Canada become the 51st American state.

Travel began to plummet

Things escalated quickly, and Canadian government data has revealed the stunning drop in travel to the United States over the last year. Numbers from Statistics Canada relayed to CBC News in November showed that critical cross-border travel had fallen by double digits. 

The depth of the crisis

Between February and October, Canadian air travel returns from the United States had fallen by 21%. Even more concerning was the drop in automobile returns, which fell by a staggering 33.5%. These figures will likely get worse as the final travel return numbers from 2025 are tallied. 

A huge problem for the US

The massive decline in Canadian return trips from the United States is a huge problem for America since Canadian travellers make up the biggest portion of foreign visitors to the country. Tens of millions of Canadians visited the US in 2024, and they spent billions of dollars in the country. 

America’s key source of tourists

“Canada is the top source of international visitors to the United States, with 20.4 million visits in 2024, generating $20.5 billion in spending and supporting 140,000 American jobs,” the US Travel Association explained in a February 2025 press release. 

What was at stake in February

“A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses,” the association noted at the time in a statement that outlined the major problems that President Trump’s tariffs on Canada could cause. 

Canadians boycotted all travel

While the US Travel Association’s warning was correct in its assessment that the United States would feel the consequences of Trump’s actions, it underestimated just how bad things would get. Canadians have overwhelmingly taken up the call to boycott the US. 

Trump caused the decrease

New polling from Abacus data conducted between January 9th and the 14th revealed that Canadians will not be backing down from their travel boycott any time soon. It also showed that the entire situation is the result of Trump and his policies towards Canada. 

Only 27% said they traveled to the US

When Abacus Data asked the 1,850 Canadians it surveyed if they had traveled to the US in the last twelve months for pleasure or personal reasons, just 27% said that they had. Another 8% indicated that they had traveled to the United States for business. 

A majority didn’t vacation in America

Two-thirds of Canadians (68%) noted that they hadn’t traveled to the United States in the prior twelve months. However, this wasn’t the most important finding that the new polling revealed. 

Trump was the reason that a lot of Canadians didn’t go to the US

Of those who said they had not traveled to the US, one in four (34%) noted that they considered traveling south, but ultimately decided against it because of their feelings about how President Trump was dealing with Canada. 

A complex problem

“This effect is not uniform. Older Canadians who have not travelled are more likely than younger cohorts to say they considered it but decided against it, rising to four in ten among those aged 60 and over who did not go,” Abacus Data explained. 

Regional differences were also present in the data

Regional differences were also more pronounced in the data. Those in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia showed a high level of avoidance. Quebec also had a much lower number of individuals willing to travel to the United States. 

Politics played a role

Political affiliation also made a difference. Abacus Data reported that Liberal and NDP voters were more likely to say that they avoided travel to the United States because of Trump or his treatment of Canada than were Conservative voters.  

Thinking less of people who went to the US

The polling also found that a whopping 33% of Canadians would think less of friends or family who traveled to the United States, which indicated that there may be some social pressure at work in convincing others to boycott travel to the US.

A striking finding

“On its face, that is a striking finding,” Abacus Data noted. “Travel choices are becoming moralized for a significant minority.” How this situation will affect Canadian travel to the United States over the next three years of Trump’s time in office is still unclear. 

Trump has cost the US billions

Exactly how much damage Trump has done to the travel industry in the United States as a result of his actions towards Canada is difficult to measure. All of the data isn’t in yet, but there are clues that the President has cost Americans billions of dollars.