Canadian travel advisor McKenzie McMillan says his vacation bookings to the United States have plunged dramatically in recent weeks.
"For our Canadian clients, travel to the U.S. has pretty much dropped to zero,” said McMillan, who is the luxury consultant supplier relations manager at The Travel Group in Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.). “We're probably at about a 95% drop in our leisure travel to the United States since February.”
President Donald Trump first announced plans to increase trade tariffs on Canadian products by 25% in an executive order issued Feb. 1, a decision followed by a roller coaster of subsequent tariff threats before the White House announced a 90-day pause on its country-specific tariff plan April 9.
McMillan describes the resulting sentiment north of the border as “uncharted waters.”
“I've never seen this level of patriotism in Canada,” he said. “I've lived here my whole life, and I've never seen Canadians of all stripes come together this much. There's a real push to buy Canadian, so you'll even see in grocery stores that Canadian products are labeled with giant maple leaves, and U.S. products are being moved out of the sight line on shelving.”
Are U.S. Travelers Welcome in Canada?
McMillan was quick to insist that he believes American travelers are, however, still very much welcome in Canada.
Most Canadians with opinions on this seem to be differentiating between U.S. citizens and the U.S. government, and the anger in Canada is directed toward actions the U.S. government has taken against Canada.
"I was walking home yesterday, and I saw a pretty significant number of U.S. license plates, so I know Americans are still coming,” he said. “Most Canadians with opinions on this seem to be differentiating between U.S. citizens and the U.S. government, and the anger in Canada is directed toward actions the U.S. government has taken against Canada. And so, I really think American citizens should feel they are welcome in Canada.”
Discover Halifax surveyed 400 Halifax residents between March 4-9 this year and found that 75% of respondents “plan to be as welcoming or more welcoming to American tourists than before.”
Ross Jefferson, president and CEO of Discover Halifax, said the relationship between Canada and the U.S. has deep roots in Halifax.
“American visitors play a key role in the tourism economy of our region, supporting local businesses and communities,” Jefferson said. “We are happy to see these [survey] results, and no matter the global landscape, we hope Halifax remains a place where visitors will always feel welcome.”
Maya Lange, vice president of global marketing for Destination B.C., was also quick to reassure U.S. travelers.
"We British Columbians would be very sad to hear that Americans aren’t feeling welcome about coming to visit,” Lange said. “We may be feeling some frustration politically, but we will always be welcoming to our guests from around the world — and especially to our American neighbors.”
Are More Americans Headed North?
Despite the building tariff tensions over recent months between the Canadian and U.S. governments, Destination B.C.’s Lange said her region is forecasting an increase in U.S. visitors later this year.
British Columbia is expecting an increase in American visitors this year.
Credit: 2025 Maridav/stock.adobe.com
"I'll call it single-digit growth from the U.S.,” Lange said. “As we look at forward bookings, we're seeing it not only in the next three to six months, but also those core summer months are still very much growing [year over year].”
The Travel Group’s McMillian notes that his agency also works with some U.S.-based clients, and he has not seen demand slip in the American market for vacations to Canada.
"We haven't seen any sort of slowdown in U.S. travelers heading north of the border,” he said.
We haven't seen any sort of slowdown in U.S. travelers heading north of the border.
Hilarie Hildebrandt, founder of Hi2 Global Travel — a Brownell Travel affiliate in Culver City, California — says she’s been busy booking U.S.-based clients to Canada, including trips to Banff, the Okanagan Valley and an East Coast cruise later this year.
“The exchange rate's awesome, it’s easy to get here and it's beautiful,” Hildebrandt said. “I've done quite a few big trips and small family trips, too.”
Hildebrandt has dual citizenship in Canada and the U.S., splitting her time between Culver City and the Okanagan Valley in B.C. She was also quick to offer reassurance to American travelers, who might be worried about the welcome they’ll receive in Canada.
“There's a genuine spirit to Canadian hospitality,” Hildebrandt said. “It's just kindness and service that's polished without being over the top. [Canadians are] just really good, welcoming people, so I don't think anybody needs to worry about coming here.”
A Bleak Forecast From Canada
Julie Brinkman, the CEO at Beyond, a revenue-management platform for vacation rentals, says their numbers are pretty dreary when examining bookings made so far this year by Canadians at properties across the U.S.
"Canadian searches for U.S. rentals dropped by almost half since the tariffs were announced, so [down] about 44%,” Brinkman said. “And then even after those tariffs were paused … the search numbers didn't recover.”
Brinkman adds that Canadians traditionally account for roughly 20% of international bookings within the U.S., but year-to-date in 2025, Canadians are accounting for just 5%.
Meanwhile, a March 26 OAG analysis of forward booking data for flights between Canada and the U.S. revealed bookings are down by more than 70% in every month through the end of September this year.
"The damage is done,” Brinkman said. “From a brand standpoint and from a reputation standpoint, we really put a sour taste in Canadians’ mouths.”
McMillan adds that The Travel Group is now starting to see corporate bookings to the U.S. dip among his agency’s Canadian clientele.
“There are many stories in the Canadian press right now about Canadian citizens being stopped at the border and either being turned around or having their mobile devices and their electronics searched, and then either being denied entry or being detained,” McMillan said. “And it's caused some of our corporate clients to consider barring their staff from going to the U.S., due to the perceived liability they might face.”
