Caril Nash loves her American family — it’s just their president she’s not fond of.
“My identity as a Canadian was threatened by his desire to absorb us,” says the Ontario resident of Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the ”51st state.”
“Despite the warm welcome of my family in the States, I won’t be going down to visit.”
Nash is one of many Canadians dedicated to an indefinite boycott of the U.S., citing the haughty rhetoric of the U.S. president, aggressive tariffs, and expanding growing ideological differences. The travel sector is one of many casualties of the fallout between the once friendly countries, as the number of Canadians travelling south of the border continues to plummet while U.S. travel policy grows increasingly difficult for outsiders to navigate.
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that U.S. travel by Canadians continued to decline in the month of September. Return trips from the U.S. by Canadian residents dropped 30.9 per cent, year-over-year, including a 33.8 per cent dip in those returning by car and a 19.3 per cent decrease in air travel.
“The year has not been good for the Americans regarding tourism,” says Frédéric Dimanche, a professor in the department of hospitality and tourism at Toronto Metropolitan University.
And it’s not just Canadians taking a pass on the U.S. A fall report from the U.S. Travel Association expects a significant drop in global tourists to the U.S. by the end of the year, the first decline since the pandemic. The organization projects international visits to the U.S. to dip to 67.9 million in 2025, a 6.3 per cent decrease from the 72.4 million visits in 2024.
Dimanche stressed that while the impact to the overall U.S. economy might be small, specific states like Florida, New York, Nevada, and some border states, are feeling the pinch disproportionately.
Even snowbirds, the most predictable migrators to the south, are cooling on warm-weather U.S. destinations.
According to Canadian travel resource Snowbird Advisor, fewer self-identified snowbirds will flock to the U.S. this winter compared to a year ago. The survey of 4,000 Canadian snowbirds found that 70 per cent planned to visit the U.S., down from 82 per cent last year.
Snowbird Advisor’s Stephen Fine says many snowbirds are still likely to travel south because about 70 per cent of them drive to the U.S. — other destinations abroad are inaccessible by car — while many own property and have established ties to the communities where they flock in the winter months.
“At least 30 per cent own property in their destinations,” says Fine of the survey respondents. “You’re not just gonna let it sit empty for the year and pay to go somewhere else or stay at home.”
Other warm-weather destinations are pouncing on America’s diplomatic missteps — Dimanche says places such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and Portugal are becoming more popular with Canadians.
“You can be sure that this winter, in February, at the largest tourism trade show in the world, a lot of people will be trying to seduce Canadian tour operators and Canadian travel agencies so that they can get their business,” says Dimanche, referring to the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin.
According to Toronto-based immigration lawyer Ksenia Tchern McCallum, Canadians that do travel south can expect to spend more time answering questions at the border.
Tchern McCallum says that travellers should prepare for customs officials asking for proof of residence and employment in Canada as well as proof of sufficient funds to cover the stay.
“What the border officers are assessing every time you enter is whether or not you are a bona fide visitor,” she says. “They want to make sure that no one is overstaying.”
Non-residents that plan to stay 30 days or longer must register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and those that fail to comply can face fines of up to $5,000 USD or imprisonment up to six months.
As of December 26, travellers at all ports of entry to the U.S. should prepare for biometric screening such as fingerprinting and being photographed upon entry and exit. Photos will go through facial recognition technology to ensure that entry and exit photos match.
“We’ve been very fortunate as Canadians, we’ve never had to go to the consulate to apply for a visa,” says Tchern McCallum of the relatively smooth U.S. customs experience that Canadians are used to. “Now it’s a little bit more time-consuming.”
Protracted interactions at the border are not the only extra burden that Canadians could face.
In late November, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced ”America-first pricing,” which includes price increases for non-U.S. residents at 11 of the country’s national parks, including Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. Starting Jan 1, 2026, non-residents will be charged an extra $100 USD per person, on top of the standard $20 entry fee, while an annual pass for non-residents will cost $250 — more than three times what residents will pay for a pass.
“I have spent 60-plus years trusting that the USA was our friend,” says Nash, who remains close with her American family despite what feels to her like a betrayal of that friendship by Trump. “I wouldn’t have thought that I would be so affected, but I am.”
Nash says her American cousin is planning a trip to see her in Canada, and she’s keen to explore more of her own country.
“I’ve seen some of my country but most certainly not enough of it,” she says. “I take for granted that its beauty will always be here for when I get around to it, and I’ve come to realize that maybe it’s time that I get around to it.”
