Canadians ghost US as cross border friendship collapses amid political tensions and Trump’s tariffs

Canadians are hitting pause on trips to the United States, and it’s not just a blip. For the seventh straight month, travel south of the border has dropped sharply, a shift fueled by political and economic tensions.

New figures from Statistics Canada show that in July 2025, return trips by car to the US fell 36.9 percent compared to the same month last year. Air travel was also down, with Canadians returning from the US on commercial flights dropping 25.8 percent.

President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade stance toward Canada, including tariffs and his suggestion that the US should “annex” its northern neighbor, has sparked anger and a growing boycott movement.


The strain is also economic.The gap between the Canadian and US economies is widening. The Canadian dollar’s weakness against the US greenback, combined with sky-high housing costs and wages that lag behind inflation, has made American vacations far less affordable.

The strain is also economic. Isabelle Salle, a behavioral macroeconomics professor at the University of Ottawa, says the gap between the Canadian and US economies is widening. The Canadian dollar’s weakness against the US greenback, combined with sky-high housing costs and wages that lag behind inflation, has made American vacations far less affordable.

“People have directly lost in terms of purchasing power,” Salle explained. “The uncertainty of the trade war and fears about future job losses are keeping people from spending money on leisure now, just in case.”

The boycott works both ways, though less dramatically. The number of Americans visiting Canada in July by land fell 7.4 percent, but air arrivals from the US inched up by 0.7 percent to roughly 714,700 travelers.

Domestic tourism operators in Canada are seeing an upside. Resorts in Banff, boutique hotels in Halifax, and tour companies in the Yukon are reporting record bookings. Some promotions, like the “Canada Strong” pass, have boosted local travel by as much as 75 percent compared to last summer.

Many Canadians are choosing to stay home as an act of defiance, and there’s no sign that will change anytime soon.