Toronto residents Alyssa Daniels and her nine-year-old daughter, both diehard Dolly Parton fans, were looking forward to celebrating 50 years of Dollywood in Tennessee this summer, but they recently canceled their plans. Citing safety concerns and disinterest in contributing to the American economy, Daniels joins a growing wave of anti-American sentiment afloat in Canada.
Tensions between Canada and the U.S. have risen over tariffs imposed on Canadian imports by the Trump administration and U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. The president levied a blanket 25 percent tariff on all goods in March, except those under the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canadian energy and potash are being tariffed at a lower 10 percent rate, while Canadian steel and aluminum now face a 25 percent levy. Trump announced sweeping reciprocal global tariffs on Wednesday: a baseline 10 percent fee on all imports, although a fact sheet from the White House says Canada is exempt. While Canada did not get additional tariffs, since the duties imposed on several items last month are still in place, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that he will respond with countermeasures.
President Trump’s tariffs and threats have prompted many Canadians to cancel their plans to visit the U.S. amid a growing “Elbows Up” nationalistic movement. (“Elbows Up” is a rallying cry inspired by Canadian comedian Mike Myers quoting Canadian hockey icon Gordie Howe on a recent episode of Saturday Night Live.)
Daniels has funny videos of her daughter, Lyla, singing along to Parton songs like “Jolene” and “Islands in the Stream” as a toddler. “But, like many other Canadians, I decided not to travel to the States,” she says. “I don’t want to put my money into that country.”
Canadians’ leisure travel bookings to American cities dropped 40 percent in February compared to a year prior, according to Canadian travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada, which reported that one in five of its customers canceled a trip to the U.S. over the past three months. Advance bookings between Canada and the U.S. have plummeted by more than 70 percent for the summer flying season, according to analysis by the aviation data company OAG. Road trips are down, too, by nearly a quarter in February compared to a year ago, according to Statistics Canada, Canada’s national statistical agency.
Canadian airlines are noticing and responding to the trends. Air Canada recently reduced flights to Florida, Las Vegas, and Arizona—popular spring-break destinations—by 10 percent starting in March. WestJet noted a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean. And the number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24 percent year over year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12 percent year over year for March.
Economic losses for the U.S. travel industry
Canadians forgoing travel to the U.S. will cause significant ripple effects. 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, which supports 140,000 American jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association, which promotes inbound travel to the country. A 10 percent reduction in Canadian travelers could mean 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses.
“The travel industry is seeing concerning trends in both domestic and international-inbound travel. We attribute this to a variety of factors, including a strong dollar, long visa wait times, concerns over travel restrictions, a question of America’s welcomeness, a slowing U.S. economy, and recent safety concerns. These challenges are real and demand decisive action,” the U.S. Travel Association said in a statement sent to Afar.
Canadian-based tour company members of the National Tour Association (NTA) said the drop-off of bookings for travel inbound to the United States is “astronomical,” and the financial impact has been “devastating.”
“The decline of group travel from Canada into the United States is not only a huge loss for Canadian tour operators. U.S. businesses—tour operators, hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping venues, sports arenas, experience providers, and motorcoach companies—are losing out this year on millions of dollars in revenue from cancellations, and destinations are losing visitation and millions in tax revenue,” NTA President Catherine Prather said in an email.
In March, the NTA surveyed its U.S.-based members to gauge the impact of the drastic decline in group travel from Canada. Fifty-three percent of members have lost business, bookings, and/or visitation from Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, fewer Americans are heading north as well. In February, the number of U.S.-resident road trips to Canada dropped by 7.9 percent from the same month in 2024, and Americans flying to Canada dropped by 1.3 percent—the first year-over-year decline since March 2021 for air travel, added Statistics Canada.
The neighborly sentiment has soured
Andrew Esp is one of the many Canadians choosing to spend their travel dollars in their own country, or in Mexico, Europe, or the Caribbean instead of the U.S. For the past two years, Esp and four of his buddies have been going to Myrtle Beach to golf. They were considering Arizona this year, but they switched to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
“The reason for canceling was unanimous,” says Esp. “We feel threatened by the 51st-state rhetoric, and none of us wants to support the U.S. economy while Canada continues to be shunned and disrespected.”
Esp says he usually travels to the U.S. two or three times a year, including an annual bike trip for the past 15 years. But this year, the Ontario resident will bike north of Montreal, in Quebec.
Meredith MacRitchie, who lives in the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia with her husband and three children, is about half an hour away from the Washington State border. When the Canadian dollar is strong, her family travels stateside as often as every six weeks; when the dollar is weaker, about four to five times a year.
“We travel for a simple Target run, concerts, baseball games, weekends away, etc.,” says MacRitchie. “We were hesitant to travel across the first time Trump was elected, so even during his first term, we went down less than before. As soon as he mentioned Canada as the 51st state while campaigning, we knew we would not be crossing the border if he were elected. I took those ‘jokes’ seriously.”
Her family had a trip to Disneyland booked the first week of December, a destination they would travel to every 18 months to two years. “We told the kids it’d be our last trip for at least four years, and maybe longer depending on what happens.”
MacRitchie says she’s very troubled by what’s happening stateside. “There are reports of people being detained for no reason, asking to go through devices, etc. . . . it’s a ‘hell no’ from us,” she says. MacRitchie’s family had a potential plan to head to Oregon this summer, but that is now off the table.
Updated travel advisory
Like several European countries, Canada updated its travel advisory for citizens visiting the United States in late March, citing changes in U.S. immigration policy and enforcement.
Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland issued similar warnings, pointing to heightened scrutiny at borders, increased visa restrictions, and new federal guidelines that reportedly impact transgender and nonbinary travelers.
Canadians and other travelers who plan to visit the U.S. for more than 30 days now have to register, according to an executive order issued by President Trump. Failure to comply could potentially lead to fines or misdemeanor charges. Previously, Canadians did not have to register and only required a visa if they planned on staying for more than six months.
Some Canadians haven’t ruled out the U.S. entirely
Joshua Poch has a trip to Pittsburgh coming up in June that he’s unsure about taking.
“I’m on the fence because we’ve been hearing about Canadians being detained and sent back at the border,” says Poch. “We have friends who go to Buffalo regularly, and they’re getting stopped and searched almost every time now. Visitors are having their phones and electronics searched.”
Despite all of these changes, others aren’t as fazed about heading to the United States. Chris Rudder, a Toronto-based travel vlogger, said he’s still open to going for work, with the caveat that he’ll promote the destination once things settle down, to avoid upsetting his primarily Canadian audience. “I have no vacation plans at the moment, but I would consider traveling to the States to visit family. No need to cut off my family due to politics.”
