Number of Canadians taking trips to the U.S. sees stark decline: StatCan

The talk of Canadians boycotting travel to the United States is taking hold, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Data from July shows the number of Canadians making return trips from the U.S. by automobile decreased 36.9 per cent from a year prior. That marks seven consecutive months of year-over-year declines.

The national statistics office says the downward trend marks the first time since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were in place that Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. declined.

Data published by Whatcom County, Wash. shows that road border crossings from B.C. to Washington were down 28 per cent in July. While that number is not as stark as May, which marked 47 per cent less border crossings, it is still enough to represent a growing trend.

Statistics Canada says compared to May 2024, there was a 52.3 per cent drop in return trips between B.C. and the U.S. in May 2025.

Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer based in Blaine, Wash., previously told 1130 NewsRadio tensions have been rising since U.S. President Donald Trump implemented enforcement-oriented policies. It is not uncommon for border officials to search travelers phones for example, and an increasing number of Canadians are concerned about their political position on social media.

“It’s sad to say, but be very careful, as a Canadian citizen and in the United States, if there’s anything on social media or your cell phone that you think would be harmful to your entry,” Saunders said.

Canada-U.S. return airplane trips have experienced negative year-over-year growth since Sept. 2023, a trend that has continued throughout 2025.

Return trips by airplane from the U.S. saw 25.8 per cent less trips in July compared to the same month in 2024. This is despite the fact that returning Canadian-resident trips from overseas countries increased 5.9 per cent from July 2024 to 1.0 million in July 2025.