Canadians are No Longer Visiting the US and It’s Getting Hard to Ignore — Who’s to Blame for This?

For generations, Canadians have been some of America’s most reliable visitors.

They filled our hotels, ate at our restaurants, shopped at our malls, and pumped billions into our economy.

They were good neighbors who spent their money here and went home happy.

Not anymore. Canadian travel to the United States has collapsed.

Air travel is down nearly 20%. Car trips have plummeted by almost 30%, with 11 consecutive months of decline.

Canadian airlines have slashed more than 450,000 seats to U.S. destinations—that’s 5,000 empty seats per day that used to be filled with paying customers.

And if you think this is just a temporary blip or some minor adjustment, you’re not paying attention. This is a referendum on America, and we’re failing.

The Exodus Is Real—And Expensive

The U.S. Travel Association estimates this Canadian tourism collapse will cost American businesses $5.7 billion. That’s billion with a B.

For border states, the damage is even more severe.

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley held press conferences describing Canadian and Mexican tourism dropping “from a faucet to a drip.”

She literally begged Canadians to come back by saying: “I’m telling everybody in Canada, please come. We love you, we need you, and we miss you.”

When’s the last time you saw an American mayor publicly beg foreigners to visit? That’s not strength—that’s desperation.

In northern New Hampshire, Canadian visitors normally make up 15-25% of tourism. They’re gone.

Christa Bowdish, owner of the Old Stagecoach Inn in Waterbury, Vermont, had some choice words in her interview with Vermont TV news station WCAX.

“While people aren’t visiting Vermont, they’ll be finding new places to visit, making new memories, building new family traditions, and we will not recapture all of that.”

She’s right. Once you lose customers like this, they don’t just come back automatically.

They find new favorite destinations. They build new habits. They tell their friends to skip America too.

Where Are They Going Instead?

Here’s the part that should embarrass every American: Canadians aren’t staying home. They’re still traveling—just not here.

Canadian airlines are cutting U.S. routes by 10% while simultaneously expanding flights to Mexico, Costa Rica, and major European cities.

Air Canada, WestJet, and Flair Airlines are redirecting capacity to places Canadians actually want to visit. Places that welcome them.

Think about what that means.

Canadians looked at their options—America versus literally anywhere else—and chose anywhere else.

Mexico is beating us. Costa Rica is beating us. Europe, despite being thousands of miles farther, is beating us.

That’s not a political statement. That’s a market signal. And the market is screaming that America has become an unattractive destination.

The Excuses Don’t Hold Up

Some people want to blame this on economics. “The Canadian dollar is weak,” they say. “Inflation is hitting Canada hard.”

Really? Because Canadians are still traveling internationally. They’re just choosing other countries.

If it was purely about money, they’d be staying home entirely.

But they’re not—they’re spending their tourism dollars in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe.

The Canadian dollar was weak before. Inflation existed before. But Canadians still came to America. What changed?

The Trump administration’s hostility toward Canada, that’s what changed.

Trump’s “51st State” Nonsense Drove Them Away

President Trump repeatedly called Canada the “51st state.” He also imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, and insulted Canadian leadership.

He treated America’s closest ally and largest trading partner like an adversary. And Canadians noticed.

This isn’t about Canadians being “too sensitive” or “unable to take a joke.”

This is about customers choosing not to give their money to a country that openly disrespects them. That’s called having standards.

When you insult your neighbors, threaten their economy, and treat them like subordinates, don’t be shocked when they stop wanting to visit.

This is basic human behavior, not some complex geopolitical mystery.

American Businesses Are Paying the Price

Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, New York, relied on Canadian visitors for about 10% of business.

“The drop in visits from Canadian tourists has had a noticeable impact on our bottom line,” said Scott Osborn, the vineyard’s president and co-owner told the National Post.

“Fewer cross-border travelers mean fewer tastings, tours, and wine sales—a ripple effect that touches our entire operation.”

Fargo, North Dakota is feeling it. Burlington, Vermont is feeling it. Spokane, Washington is feeling it.

These are real American workers losing real American jobs because the federal government couldn’t keep its mouth shut.

And for what?

What did we gain from insulting Canada? What strategic advantage came from threatening tariffs on our largest trading partner? What benefit did calling them the “51st state” provide?

Nothing. We gained nothing. We just lost customers.

The “Just Politics” Excuse Is Lazy

Some people dismiss this by saying, “It’s just politics. People need to grow up and separate politics from vacation planning.”

First of all, tourism IS politics.

When you spend money in a country, you’re supporting that country’s economy. You’re endorsing it with your wallet.

Canadians have decided they don’t want to endorse America right now. That’s their right.

Second, this isn’t abstract policy disagreement. These are real actions that affect real Canadian lives.

Tariffs hit Canadian workers. Trade disputes impact Canadian industries. Insults affect Canadian dignity.

You can’t spend four years treating your neighbors like garbage and then act confused when they stop coming to visit.

Actions have consequences. This is the consequence.

We’re Driving Away Our Most Reliable Visitors

Here’s what makes this particularly stupid: Canadians were easy tourists.

They drove across the border. They spoke English. They had similar cultural expectations. They spent money freely and went home without drama.

They were the ideal visitors. Low-maintenance, high-spending, repeat customers who’d been coming for decades.

And we drove them away.

Not because of safety concerns. Not because of natural disasters. Not because of quality issues.

We drove them away because our government couldn’t stop picking fights with our closest ally.

The Broader Pattern: America Is Becoming Unwelcoming

This isn’t just about Canada. The U.S.

Travel Association warned that America is unprepared for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics due to strained air travel systems, visa issues, and aging infrastructure.

We’re making it harder for people to visit. Visa processing is slower. Airport security is more aggressive. Immigration officials are more hostile.

The entire experience of visiting America has become unpleasant. Other countries roll out the red carpet for tourists.

They streamline visa processes. They invest in infrastructure. They train their officials to be welcoming.

America does the opposite. We make it difficult, expensive, and humiliating to visit. Then we act surprised when people choose other destinations.

“America First” Is Costing America Money

The “America First” mentality sounded good in campaign speeches. In practice, it’s costing American businesses billions of dollars.

When you tell the world that America comes first and everyone else is secondary, don’t be shocked when “everyone else” decides to spend their money elsewhere.

When you pick fights with allies, insult neighbors, and weaponize trade, tourism suffers.

This isn’t complicated economics. It’s basic common sense that somehow escaped the people making these decisions.

The Recovery Will Take Years

Even if relations improve tomorrow, the damage is done. Canadian travelers have found new destinations.

They’ve discovered they can have great vacations in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Europe without dealing with American hostility.

Christa Bowdish (who’s quoted earlier in this article) nailed it: “This is long-lasting damage to a relationship, and emotional damage takes time to heal.”

You can’t insult someone for four years and expect them to immediately forgive and forget.

Trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy. We destroyed it. Now we get to spend years trying to rebuild it—if we even bother trying.

What Should Have Happened

This was preventable. Completely preventable. All we had to do was not insult Canada. That’s it.

Just don’t call your largest trading partner a “51st state.” Don’t threaten unnecessary tariffs. Don’t treat allies like adversaries.

Maintain normal, respectful relations with your neighbors. Be professional. Be diplomatic.

Remember that other countries have choices about where to send their tourists.

But no. We had to be aggressive. We had to be confrontational. We had to prove we’re tough by picking fights with Canada of all countries.

And now American businesses are paying the price while Canadian tourists enjoy vacations in countries that actually want them.

The Future Looks Worse

Here’s the scary part: this might get worse before it gets better.

As Canadians build new vacation habits and discover new favorite destinations, they’ll tell their friends.

“Skip America, go to Portugal instead.” “Mexico is better and cheaper.” “The Caribbean is beautiful and they actually appreciate tourists.”

Word of mouth is powerful in tourism.

Once you lose your reputation as a welcoming destination, it’s incredibly hard to get it back. America is actively destroying its reputation right now.

And for what? What are we getting in return for this damage?

Border Towns Deserve Better

The real victims here are American workers in border communities who relied on Canadian tourism.

Hotel staff, restaurant workers, retail employees, attraction operators—they didn’t pick fights with Canada.

They didn’t insult our neighbors. They just showed up to work.

Now they’re losing income, losing jobs, watching their businesses struggle, all because federal officials couldn’t maintain basic diplomatic courtesy with our closest ally.

These workers deserved better. Their communities deserved better. American businesses deserved better.

They got the president’s ego instead.

The Bottom Line: We Did This to Ourselves

Canadian tourism didn’t collapse because of some unavoidable economic force. It collapsed because American leadership actively pushed them away.

This was a choice. A bad choice. A choice that’s costing American businesses billions of dollars and American workers their livelihoods.

Canadians aren’t being unreasonable. They’re being rational.

When someone insults you, threatens your economy, and treats you with contempt, you stop giving them your money. That’s not politics—that’s self-respect.

America used to understand that allies are valuable.

That trade is beneficial. That tourism brings prosperity. That you catch more flies with honey than with tariffs and insults.

Somewhere along the way, we forgot those lessons.

Now we’re learning them again the hard way—one empty hotel room, one closed restaurant, one lost job at a time.

Canadians are voting with their feet and their wallets.

They’re choosing other destinations. They’re building new traditions. They’re finding new favorite places. And we have nobody to blame but ourselves.