Canadian travel to U.S. takes dramatic nosedive approaching 900,000

Canadians are sticking to their guns amid the trade war between Canada and the United States, with travel to the U.S. plummeting drastically in the past month.

New data from the U.S. Customs Border Patrol (CBP) shows that 4,105,516 people crossed the border from Canada to the U.S. in March.

That's a drop of 864,844 visitors compared to the same month last year, which saw 4,970,360 Canadians travelling down south.

CBP

Broken down by modes of travel, 2.5 million people travelled from Canada to the U.S. by car in March 2025, compared to the 3.4 million passenger vehicles that crossed the northern border the same month last year. That's a 900,000 drop in visitors by land.

CBP

In contrast, travel by air in March 2025 increased by about 47,000, with 923,000 people flying from Canada to the U.S. compared to 876,000 people in March 2024.

Air travel seems to have increased despite Canadian airlines cutting thousands of seats to certain U.S. states in response to a significant dip in travel.

CBP

Aside from Canadians cancelling their U.S. travel plans in solidarity with Canada amid the trade war, the drop in travel could also be attributed to tightening border restrictions.

The federal government updated its U.S. travel advisory last month, with new entry and exit requirements for Canadians who plan to visit the south for longer than a month.

There has also been travellers' anxiety regarding different experiences Canadians have had with U.S. customs while crossing the border.

In February, the number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. dropped by half a million, according to the CBP.