Nearly 500,000 fewer travelers crossed into the United States by land in February compared to the same month last year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. The drop, particularly among Canadian visitors, marks the latest sign that President Donald Trump’s trade policies and rhetoric are straining bilateral relations.
The number of travelers entering the U.S. in passenger vehicles—the most common method of crossing—fell from 2.69 million in February 2024 to 2.22 million last month. That decline brings cross-border travel to levels not seen since the post-COVID-19 recovery period in April 2022, when restrictions were still in place.
Experts say the reversal in travel patterns coincides with Trump’s escalating trade war and controversial remarks about Canada potentially becoming the 51st state. Until February, cross-border travel had been trending upward year-over-year, but the latest data shows a sharp decline.
Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Washington, a town heavily reliant on cross-border shoppers, describes the impact as eerily familiar.
“This is like COVID all over again,” Saunders told CBC News. “With Trump’s rhetoric, people just don’t want to come down here. If they’re not buying American liquor in B.C., they’re certainly not coming here to save 20 bucks on gas.”
Saunders attributes the drop to a combination of Trump’s trade policies, threats of tariffs, and reports of Canadian travelers being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We’re only two months into a four-year administration. If this continues, we could see a full-blown boycott of the U.S.,” he warned.
The economic consequences are already being felt. Barbara Barrett, executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, which represents independently owned duty-free shops along the border, describes the situation as “catastrophic.”
“Sales never fully recovered after the pandemic, and now they’re down about 80 percent compared to pre-2020 levels,” Barrett said. “It’s dramatic—the borders are just not seeing the traffic.”
While a weak Canadian dollar has made trips to the U.S. less appealing, Barrett believes the primary driver of the decline is political.
“We’ve seen the dollar fluctuate before, and we’ve never had this kind of drop-off,” she noted. “If it were purely about currency exchange, we’d be seeing more Americans coming north, and we’re not.”
CBP data further confirms the downward trend across multiple travel categories. The number of truck drivers crossing the border fell from 493,000 in February 2024 to 473,000 this year. Even pedestrian crossings, which are relatively low in winter, saw a decline from 117,000 to 99,000.
Air travel remained stable, with a slight increase of 50,000 passengers year-over-year. However, airlines have reported a slump in future U.S.-bound bookings.
Statistics Canada data mirrors these findings, with a 23 percent decline in the number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by automobile compared to last February. The agency described the drop as “steep,” comparable to the downturn seen during pandemic travel restrictions.
Trump’s trade war, launched on February 1, has been a major flashpoint. The president imposed a 25 percent tariff on select Canadian goods, citing border security concerns. He later added a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports, with more retaliatory measures expected in April.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current Prime Minister Mark Carney have both urged Canadians to shop locally and vacation within the country as a form of economic resistance.
“It might mean changing your summer vacation plans,” Trudeau said. “Stay here in Canada, explore our national parks, and send a message that we won’t tolerate unfair tariffs.”
The growing strain on cross-border relations raises concerns about long-term economic impacts. With further trade measures on the horizon, the downward trend in U.S.-bound travel may continue.
Source: Swifteradio.com
