"It's Insulting": Why Canadians Are Avoiding the US, And Where They're Going Instead

Paul Doroshenko hasn't set foot in the United States for more than a day in over nine years. The Vancouver lawyer once traveled south regularly, conferences, vacations, the kind of cross-border rhythm millions of Canadians share with their American neighbours. But in 2017, he happened to be in Arizona during Donald Trump's first inauguration. He watched it on a hallway television. And something shifted.

Trump's second term sealed it.

"It's insulting and offensive and not the way you treat your neighbor or business partner," Doroshenko told USA Today.

He's not alone. Across Canada, hundreds of thousands of people who once filled Florida beaches, New York shopping districts, Arizona golf courses, and California theme parks have quietly, and very deliberately, stopped going. Not because the destinations changed. But because, to them, the relationship did.

And that might be a harder thing to fix.

How Deep Is the Drop? The Numbers Are Startling

Let's start with the scale, because it's bigger than most people realize.

Official Statistics Canada figures show a roughly 25% decline in Canadian residents returning from the US last year. But cell phone mobility data compiled by University of Toronto researchers tells an even more dramatic story: the real drop may be closer to 42% when measured across all cross-border trips between April 2025 and March 2026.

That translates to approximately 4 million fewer Canadian visitors in 2025 alone, a 22% year-over-year decline, according to the US Commerce Department.

In dollar terms? The US Travel Association estimates Canadian tourists generated $20.5 billion in spending and supported 140,000 American jobs in 2024. A 21% drop means roughly $4.5 billion in lost spending and about 28,000 jobs at risk — and that was just year one.

The World Travel & Tourism Council puts the total drop in international tourism spending in the US at $8.5 billion, driven primarily by Canadian travellers staying home.

And March 2026 marked the 14th consecutive month of steep declines.

A quick side note on those numbers: official government statistics track "Canadian residents returning from the US," which captures most trips but misses some. The cell phone data from U of T researchers captures nearly every device that crossed the border, which is why their 42% figure is likely closer to reality. Think of it like counting cars on a highway, the official counter is at the toll booth, but the cell data has cameras on every on-ramp.

Which US Destinations Are Getting Hit Hardest?

The pain isn't evenly distributed.

• Myrtle Beach, SC: Canadian visits down 65% year-over-year.
• Florida hotspots (Panama City, Orlando, Cape Coral, Miami, Naples): Down 50% or more each.
• Business hubs (San Francisco, New York, Boston, Ann Arbor): Also down more than half.
• Border communities like Buffalo and Plattsburgh, NY, where Canadian day-trippers once made up 70% of some business's clientele: facing an existential crisis.

Of 267 US metro areas analyzed by researchers, only three showed an increase in Canadian visitors.

In short: this isn't a Florida problem or a border-town problem. It's everywhere.

"We're Not Angry, We're Disappointed"

Here's where it gets nuanced. The Canadian boycott isn't really about anger. Anger burns hot and fast and then usually fizzles. This is something slower and steadier: disappointment mixed with a genuine values-based decision.

When asked, 70% of Canadians said they'd be uncomfortable traveling to the United States. But dig deeper and the reasons reveal a lot:

• 80% of Canadian travellers who changed their plans cited US tariffs and economic policies as the primary deterrent.
• 71% pointed to political statements by US leaders.
• 41% attributed it to rising travel costs, 40% to political tension, 29% to the exchange rate, and 20% to safety concerns.

Notice that the top reasons aren't financial, they're personal. Canadians are taking the rhetoric personally.

"Canadians were already concerned over their personal finances, but they've taken the rhetoric and policy announcements from the US administration very personally," said Amir Eylon, president of Longwoods International.

It's the difference between being upset about a price hike and being upset because your best friend made a joke at your expense at a dinner party. The price hike you negotiate. The joke changes the friendship.

The "51st State" Factor

It's hard to overstate how deeply the "51st state" comments landed in Canada. Not as a geopolitical concern, as a personal insult.

"As one Canadian explained to me, tariffs are problematic, but they're economic; they can be negotiated," said John W. Gulliver, a researcher who studied the phenomenon. The insults? Those are different.

Bruce Newman, a Fredericton retiree and painter, used to visit the US up to a dozen times a year. He cancelled his wife's 75th birthday trip to New York and flew them to London instead, at a cost of thousands more. "I actually think we are at war with the US and people don't realize it," he said.

Asked to explain, he said simply: "It's just a scary place that the US is becoming right now."

Where Are Canadians Going Instead?

Canadians aren't actually traveling less. They're traveling differently.

Overseas trips by Canadians rose 9% in 2025, even as US-bound travel cratered. As Amra Durakovic of Flight Centre Canada put it: "Canadians aren't traveling less, they're traveling differently."

The top alternative destinations:

Christine Fiorelli, a Canadian travel agent, said many clients "are still eager for that magical Disney experience but prefer to avoid supporting US-based parks at this time."

Catherine Norris, a Toronto-area mother who had visited Disney World annually since 2008, booked a Disney Europe trip and back-to-back Disney cruises from Singapore instead. "It will probably be at least five to ten years before we will travel to the US again," she said.

Will the Boycott Last? Signs Point to a Long Winter

The travel industry is asking: is this permanent?

Tyler Gosnell of the US Travel Association said there are signs "the worst may be over" and that the numbers could be plateauing. But he also acknowledged the deeper risk: "The longer the decline persists, the more permanent it may become. Five, 10 years of going to the same place turns into a new family tradition."

RBC economist Abbey Xu put it plainly: "The story here is really a rebalancing of where Canadians are spending their vacation dollars."

That rebalancing has already reshaped airline networks. Air Canada and WestJet have cut US routes significantly, seats to Las Vegas are down 27.6%, to Florida down 14.2%, while redirecting capacity to other international markets.

Once an airline moves planes off a route, bringing them back takes months of planning and millions in investment. The "airlift" won't return overnight.

Karen Chapple, the researcher who uncovered the 42% drop, called it a "sea change." Business travel is down too, suggesting the shift goes beyond vacation preferences into how Canadian companies are operating.

"Some people are saying, 'You know what, I'm actually gonna make a deal with the Netherlands or China instead of Texas,'" she said.

What the US Travel Industry Is Doing About It

Some US destinations are trying to win Canadians back.

Kalispell, Montana, home to Glacier National Park, launched a "Canadian Welcome Pass" with discounts for cross-border visitors. "For the last several months, our countries have been going through some things. But there's one thing we know and it's this, we miss you," the campaign reads.

In Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and other traditional Canadian summer enclaves, tourism boards have run "Dear Canada" campaigns emphasizing shared history and friendship.

Major events, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, could bring international visitors that offset Canadian losses. But they won't rebuild the annual, repeat-visit relationship that made Canada the United States' single largest source of international tourists.

A Relationship That Needs Rebuilding

Paul Doroshenko, the Vancouver lawyer who started this story, doesn't dislike the United States. He told USA Today that he views "Canadian and American success as intertwined."

That's what makes this moment so unusual. The boycott isn't about hatred. It's about hurt feelings and values misalignment, the kind of thing that doesn't get solved by a tariff deal or a currency swing.

It's a neighbor who stopped coming over for coffee. Not because your house changed. But because you made them feel unwelcome. And that's a harder thing to fix than any trade deficit.

Have you reconsidered your travel plans to the US, or discovered an amazing alternative destination? Share your story in the comments below. If you're looking for inspiration, sign up for our newsletter to get curated guides to the destinations Canadians are loving right now.

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