In June, the number of Canadians who returned to Canada by car from the U.S. decreased 33,1 percent. Spending on Canadian tourism is expected to reach $20.5 billion by 2024.
States in America are experiencing a sharp decline in Canadian tourism after a turbulent first half of 2025.
Canadians arriving in Canada via automobile from the United States dropped by 33.1% between June and the same period last year. according to Canada’s national statistical agency. Canadians who returned from the U.S. via air saw a 22.1 percent drop. In fact, the agency said June was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year automobile declines.
The drop in Canadian tourism follows a turbulent year of politics that saw Donald Trump campaigning to make Canada the “51st State.” Justin Trudeau, the then-Prime Minster, called on Canadians to stop spending their money on vacations abroad and instead to “choose Canada,” changing their “summer holiday plans to explore the many national parks, historic sites and tourist attractions our great nation has to offer,” according to The New York Times.
By April, the number of advance bookings from Canada for flights to the U.S. in the months between April to September was down 70% when compared to last year. according to AxiosCiting statistics from aviation data company OAG
Even a small drop in tourism can be very expensive, as Canadians typically make up the largest number of foreign visitors to the U.S. according to the U.S. Travel Association. Twenty-five billion dollars in spending was generated by 2024, when a total of 20,4 million Canadians visited Canada. A 10% drop in visitor numbers could result in a $2.1 billion loss.
Some states will likely suffer more than others—Florida, California, Nevada, New York, and Texas tend to be the most popular states for Canadian visitors—but others have started to feel the crunch as well. New Hampshire, which borders Canada’s eastern region, is experiencing a sharp drop in Canadian tourism.
Taylor Caswell is New Hampshire’s commissioner of business and economic affairs. told local WMUR-TV. “They’re about 30 per cent below what we’ve seen prior years.”
Credit card transactions show the impact of less tourists in Montana. Diane Medler is the executive director at Discover Kalispell. She says that Canadians’ spending in Kalispell (in the western part) has declined by about 37 percent a month on average from January to April. told NBC Montana. Zak Anderson told the network the Canadian credit card expenditures in Whitefish have dropped by 25 percent during the month of may.
Not everyone gives up. New Hampshire, for instance, is planning a trade delegation to visit in September. WMUR-TV reported. The state governor said, “We will continue to focus our attention on our important relationships with Canada.” Kelly Ayotte told the network.
