bruce newman, a resident of new brunswick, canada, last visited the US ten years ago for his wife's 65th birthday. in early march, instead of seeing a broadway show in the US to celebrate, they traveled to london, england, to see "the book of mormon". newman explained his decision to avoid the US, stating he was offended by president donald trump's tariff policies and the idea of canada becoming "the 51st state of the US."

newman is one of millions of canadians who have stopped traveling to the US since president trump took office last year, according to a CNN survey. in 2024, over 20 million canadians visited the US, more than any other nationality, according to the US Travel Association.

bruce newman and his wife posing for a photo during their trip to london, england, in early march. photo: CNN

bruce newman and his wife posing for a photo during their trip to london, england, in early march. photo: CNN

however, final data released by the national travel and tourism office (NTTO) on 13/3 shows that canadian visitors to the US in 2025 decreased by 21% compared to 2024, representing approximately 4.2 million fewer visitors.

for many canadians, vibrant trips to new york, familiar summer vacations in maine, watching boston red sox games, or wintering in sunny florida for golf or disney world visits are now a thing of the past.

some canadians living near the border have even stopped their monthly cross-border shopping trips to maine, michigan, new york, and other states, where they once found significantly cheaper goods. many state they do not know when they will return to the US.

"we do not feel welcome crossing the border anymore," said susan morell, a former government communications director who canceled a 2025 disney world trip with her grandchildren.

the decline in canadian travel is impacting many regions of the US, causing states to lose tourism revenue that is now flowing to other destinations like mexico and europe.

todd johnson is currently in mexico. an avid golfer, he once dreamed of spending six weeks golfing in arizona, US, after retirement. the saskatchewan resident had spent many years vacationing in the US, visiting resorts in arizona and florida with friends. after 40 years of work, he retired last year. but instead of heading to phoenix as long planned, this winter he and his wife traveled to the yucatan peninsula.

at a rental home near cancun, johnson noted he was surrounded by other canadians doing the same: spending part of the winter in a warm climate, but not in the US.

vehicles crossing the canada-US border. photo: canada tousa

vehicles crossing the canada-US border. photo: canada tousa

"my friends are the same. they are not going to the US anymore," johnson said, adding that many canadians "are not spending money in the US anymore."

according to NTTO data, in 2024, each canadian air traveler to the US stayed an average of 7.34 nights and spent approximately 1,090 USD.

canadian couple april and scott had a similar experience. they won a norwegian cruise line trip for 2025. however, upon learning the itinerary departed from florida, US, they canceled the trip.

a free trip to the caribbean sounded appealing, but the scotts did not want to risk trouble or complications when entering the US, such as having their passports confiscated and getting stranded. shortly after, they also canceled plans to take their family to disney world in florida, despite having visited many times before. instead, the group of 17 will visit disneyland paris, france, later this year.

beyond leisure travel, many canadians have also sold their properties in the US.

when anita and tom hitchcock bought a condominium in florida in 2023, they immediately began renovating their second home.

however, since last year, the hitchcocks, who live in new brunswick, started questioning whether they still wanted to spend their life savings on US products, services, and this property. hitchcock previously considered the US a "friendly neighbor," frequently visiting and spending money. but now, things are different. consequently, they sold their florida condo and are spending their time traveling in south america.

it is not just leisure travel that is affected. some canadians also state they are reducing business trips to the US. gilles heroux has attended audiovisual industry conferences for decades. but this year, with the event held in las vegas, he decided not to attend.

heroux, a video conferencing equipment integration specialist in montreal, said he instead attended a similar trade fair in barcelona, spain, in february.

not all canadians are avoiding the US; some continue to travel there. with long, snowy winters in the north, florida's appeal remains "very strong."

stuart kinsinger and his wife, laurel, are currently in florida, a place they have visited for decades. kinsinger, who lives near toronto, said he is independent and that americans have the right to their political views. he also noted that the weather in florida is beautiful, and he enjoys running and playing pickleball there.

"we love this place too much to think about going elsewhere," he said.

however, compared to previous years, he has noticed a clear decrease in the number of canadians visiting. kinsinger visited the US in august and stated that he encountered few canadians on that trip as well.

"last summer we were in maine, and the only canadian car we saw was ours, even though it was peak season," he said. that also surprised kinsinger greatly.

observers suggest the current situation is almost unprecedented in the history of relations between the two countries.

xavier delgado, a canada-US relations analyst at the nonpartisan wilson center think tank in washington, DC, commented that the decrease in canadian travel to the US "is very unusual, making it difficult to say how long it will last."

avoiding the US also comes with a cost.

newman, who chose london over new york, noted that the decision resulted in higher airfare costs. nevertheless, he praised this year's trip to england as "wonderful."

meanwhile, some canadian families abandoning disney plans faced difficult choices. after canceling their trip with grandchildren, the morell family considered mexico, but drug cartel-related violence led them to believe it was unsafe.

many canadians have relatives living across the border.

dave morell during a baseball game visit to the US. photo: CNN

dave morell during a baseball game visit to the US. photo: CNN

dave morell grew up visiting relatives in maine because his mother was from a town right on the US-canada border. a retired sports announcer, he attended countless boston red sox and new york rangers games. but not anymore.

"it is a shame because we used to love going there. and we cherished the americans we met," he said.

meanwhile, johnson, currently in mexico, still hopes to return to the US one day. he views the rift more lightly, although its impact is still not very positive.

"we hope things do not cause too much damage," he said.

anh minh (according to CNN)