Canadians are taking fewer trips to U.S., Statistics Canada reports

A recent Statistics Canada report says Canadians are taking fewer trips across the border as tensions rise between the two countries.

Canadians are definitely taking a stand when it comes to their travel, as the number of trips by both car and plan have dropped again.

The number of Canadians crossing the border fell by nearly 32 per cent compared to this time last year.

This makes it the third straight month of consistent declines and the steepest drop since March 2021, during the pandemic.

A lot of this is due to anger over tariffs and threats of annexation from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has paused his election campaign again to meet with his cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations.

U.S. resident trips to Canada have also dropped over 10 per cent as well for the second month in a row.

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Duty-free shops are taking a hit in sales now as Canadians steer clear of the border.

The executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association says that sales are down about 40 to 50 per cent across Canada, just when many stores were starting to recover from the pandemic.

Return trips by air from the U.S. fell 13.5 per cent, compared to this time last year.

Flight Centre Travel Group Canada told CHCH News that it observed a 40 per cent drop in leisure bookings to the U.S. in February, compared to the last years.

They said, “as we move into April, we’re tracking a clear shift in travel preferences. Canadians still want to see the world-they’re simply being more international about where they go and how they spend, particularly with the weak Canadian dollar and global context that are shaping travel choices right now.”

Canada has recently updated their travel advisory, warning residents that they may face scrutiny at the border when travelling to the U.S.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protections says that there is no cause for alarm.

Canadians who plan to stay in the United States for longer than 30 days need to register with U.S. government website or they could face a number of fines according to their Alien Registration requirements.

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