A new Leger poll released on Thursday shows Canadian travel to the U.S., including cities such as New York, is down considerably.Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
For years, the plan was New York. A long weekend, an old friend, her milestone birthday. But in this tumultuous spring of 2025, New York was not an option.
We swapped out Broadway for an Ontario road trip to Prince Edward County; the only Big Apple these Canadians were going to get anywhere near was Colborne’s roadside attraction along the 401.
A version of this is being repeated across the country in this annus horribilis for Canadian-U.S. relations, with more tales of travel switch-outs emerging as the summer season begins. Our elbows might be getting a bit sore by now, but our patriotism game is strong.
Canadians did not have a say in the U.S. election that has played havoc with the economy and brought threats to our sovereignty. Nor do we have a voice in the undemocratic horror show we are witnessing: immigration roundups, sweeping travel bans.
But we can vote with our travel itineraries. And we are.
Canadians go elbows up on U.S. travel, opting for these destinations instead
A new Leger poll released on Thursday shows Canadian travel to the U.S. “collapsing” with 71 per cent less likely to travel to the U.S. in 2025 compared to last year. And 75 per cent of Canadians who were planning a trip to the U.S. say the tariff announcements have influenced their travel plans. Meanwhile, the Conference Board of Canada found 27 per cent of Canadian respondents are considering a trip to the U.S. in the next few years, down from more than 50 per cent in the same survey last year.
Travel to the U.S. was down in April, with a drop of more than 35 per cent in Canadian residents returning over land borders from the year before. By air, the drop was nearly 20 per cent.
This could mean as much as $8.8-billion in extra business for Canadian domestic tourism, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
But this travel war has casualties, such as businesses that rely on travel to the U.S. As someone who hears often from publicists (occupational hazard), I started to feel for people whose jobs it is to sell U.S. destinations to Canadians. Imagine having to do that right now.
They’re trying to lure us back. For example, the Canadian firm representing Visit Detroit pitched a Mother’s Day “stylish weekend” trip. Tone deaf or desperate? Or maybe – on brand – naively hopeful? Because the chances of Canada’s national newspaper – which has taken on the grassroots Elbows Up campaign in a big way – suggesting you take mom over the border to celebrate her special day were approximately nil.
Travellers change plans to avoid intense U.S. border checks as Canadian airlines rethink routes
Publicists tell me, though, that while they are not getting much (or any) uptake on these pitches, their objectives include keeping their destinations on Canadian travellers’ radars.
This crisis has been a recurring theme this week in Saskatoon, at the Travel Media Association of Canada Conference, event chair Tania Kedikian tells me.
Ms. Kedikian is senior account director at Development Counsellors International (“The Leader in Marketing Places”) and she oversees DCI’s marketing strategy for all U.S. clients that are interested in the Canadian market. (Say a prayer for her.)
“Some journalists have told us candidly: they’re hesitant to promote U.S. travel right now,” she told me.
But, with her rose-coloured sunnies firmly on, she says she believes this is not a flat-out rejection of the U.S. For instance, she sees event-driven travel emerging strongly; trips to the U.S. tied to a specific event – the Boston Marathon, a Beyonce concert. “In those cases, opportunity is trumping all,” she wrote to me, employing an, er, interesting choice of words.
Opinion: If Canadians have to ride the tariff rollercoaster, we can at least boycott U.S. travel
Sorry, but this Canadian is not buying it. I can’t be the only one who has cancelled event-driven travel (the FIFA Club World Cup this summer – sob). And when FIFA’s main event, the World Cup, comes to North America next year, how will all of this affect games played in the U.S.?
There are more severe victims of the Donald Trump administration than Canadian publicists and PR firms, obviously. But you’ve got to feel for them.
An even greater concern is for Canadian destinations that may experience a drop in U.S. tourism. A video released this week featuring local leaders in Northern Ontario’s Lake Superior region suggests a slight air of desperation. “I’d like to send out a big smalltown welcome to our American friends,” says Kevin Mullins, mayor of the township of Schreiber. “I’d like you to know we’re open for business.”
Prince Edward County was lovely, if a little pricey. My friend and I got our celebratory weekend and we didn’t have to deal with a hostile exchange rate or shakedown at the border.
But here was the best part: I allowed myself, no prescribed myself, a break from anything involving He Who Is Ruining Everything. It was a most excellent getaway.
