Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) show a notable decline of Canadians traveling to the USA in 2025. Worsening trade relations have affected Canadians’ willingness to travel to the States due to tariffs, politics, and annexation threats.
Of the 94.4 million personal vehicles that entered the USA in 2025, the majority of land travelers to the USA relied on personal vehicles. Therefore, the fall of 18.8 percent of Canadian personal vehicles that entered the USA in 2025 was significant. Just over 18 million Canadian personal vehicles were registered in the USA. The previous year, 26 million Canadians had traveled by car to the USA. This shows the drastic change in travel behavior in the neighboring countries.
Along with vehicle traffic, traffic for pedestrians has also decreased. Walking Canadian foot traffic decreased by 15.4 percent. However, the Buffalo Niagara Falls Port had a unique surge in pedestrian traffic, reporting a 54 percent increase in crossers, the only port that reported an increase in pedestrian traffic.
The passenger bus service between Canada and the U.S. also suffered. The volume of Canadian citizens who entered the U.S. via bus decreased by 14.6 percent as of 2024. This means the change in travel pattern is not only confined to one travel mode, but rather a multitude of travel options.
The northern border recorded a 5.1 percent decline in cross-border truck traffic for the year 2025. Most border points recorded a decrease in the number of truck crossings, with the exception of Port Huron, which recorded a small increase. This decrease in cross-border truck traffic could signify both a decrease in trade between the two countries and a slowing down of the trade activities as a result of the trade war.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents’ return trips from the U.S. by car were down 30.2% to 1.5 million trips. The cause of the drop was fewer Canadians making same-day trips, which was 68.4% of the total trips. The drop in car travel was matched by a drop in air travel, which saw an 11% drop in Canadian travel from the U.S., bringing the total air return trips to 718,400, a drop in trips from Canada in December 2025.
On the contrary, return trips to Canada from overseas countries saw a 13.3% increase, from 1.1 million to 1.2 million trips, which was an increase from the previous year. The increase in overseas travel suggests a change in Canadian travel preferences to countries outside Canada, instead of traveling to the U.S.
The changes in travel patterns due to trade between Canada and the United States have become more evident in recent years. The significant reduction in cross-border travel in 2025 will have resulted from a change in Canadian attitudes toward the U.S.
The trade conflict may have an uncertain future, but it has resulted in a noticeable change among Canadians. More Canadians are staying away from the United States, even for work. The data from the Canadian and U.S. transportation departments confirms that Canadian border crossings are decreasing regardless of tariffs being put in place and removed.
The decline of travel from Canada to the United States has consequences from the trade war. There has been a decline of vehicle crossings and a decline in people, bus, and truck crossings. There are two sides to the border-crossing trade war. However, the overall trend is a significant decline of border travel. The only thing that will determine if these patterns will continue is time. There is hope for better relations for people to take border crossing vacations once again.
