Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection suggests President Donald Trump’s threats and tariffs are keeping Canadians out during spring break.
On the first Saturday of spring break last year, 4,728 cars passed southbound at the Peace Arch border crossing. On the Sunday, 3,762 cars crossed and then 2,992 cars crossed on the Monday.
For the first three days of spring break this year, 2,200 vehicles crossed southbound at the Peace Arch on Saturday, which is 53 per cent less than 2024 crossings.
There were 2,392 crossings on Sunday, which is down 36 per cent and 1,749 crossings on Monday, which is down 41 per cent.
Last month, around 2.3 million people entered the U.S. over a land border, compared to 2.7 million in February 2024.
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This number is the lowest showing Canadians driving to the U.S. since April 2022, when a number of COVID restrictions were still in place.
According to Stats Canada, people driving to and from the U.S. has decreased by 23 per cent year over year in February.
“A good example is the gas stations,” immigration lawyer Len Saunders told Global News from Washington state on Tuesday.
“I know a number of the gas station owners and they say their sales are down a minimum of 40 to 50 per cent. This is what happened during the pandemic where sales were down dramatically but it was a totally different environment then.”
It appears that Americans are also taking slightly fewer trips to Canada with air travel down 1.3 per cent and road trips down 7.9 per cent.
Travel expert Claire Newel told Global News that while some people still took their trips due to having booked them early and they would lose money if they pulled out, travel plans look different this spring break.
“In general the sentiment, particularly just for crossing land borders, has absolutely plummeted. So too has forward booking to the States,” she said.
“We’re not seeing interest in the places that are typically Canadian quick getaways, especially from B.C.,” Newell added.
“Arizona, Palm Springs, Southern California, they’re just not on peoples’ radar at the moment so much so that we’re already seeing the Canadian airlines limit the flights that are going.”
Land border duty free shops are also feeling the effects.
Barbara Barrett, executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association told Global News that some stores are seeing an 80 per cent decrease compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re hearing that some stores may not make it to the summer if this continues, so we’re really looking for some support or help from the government,” she said.
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