Nearly 500,000 less travelers crossed the Canada’s land border in the United States in February compared to the same month of last year, according to American customs and border protection data (CBP), the last sign that the taunting and prices of President Donald Trump shaken bilateral relations.
The number of travelers entering the United States into a passenger vehicle-the most common way to make the trip-went from 2,696,512 in February 2024 to 2,223,408 last month, reaching the levels that have not been observed since cross-border trips have normalized in the post-avid-19 era.
In fact, the number of travelers leading to the American land border is the lowest that it has been since April 2022, According to CBP data. The Canadian government has not raised all travel -related restrictions, such as quarantine tests and measures, Until October of the same year. The fact that the current flow of travelers is at the same level as when the trip was much more difficult is revealing, according to experts.
The data show that there was a sudden reversal in February, just like Trump launched his trade war And increase its annexonist rhetoric on the fact that Canada becomes the 51st state.
The number of cross -border travelers directed to the United States in October, November, December and January was much higher than the figures reported for the same month of the previous year – but in February, there was a clear interruption of the upward trend.
Len Saunders is an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Washington, a city of around 6,000 people on the border with British Columbia
He said that the decline in Canadian Day opricers is obvious to every turn of a city that is addressed to cross -border travelers.
“It is again as if it is not fear,” he said in an interview with CBC News. “With rhetoric from Trump – people just don’t want to come here.
“If you do not buy American alcohol in British Columbia, you certainly do not come here to save 20 dollars on gas. There is just a huge reduction in Canadians-you can see it in the Costco parking lot, at Trader Joe’s. The Canadians vote with their wallets right now. This is what is happening,” he said.
Saunders said that the taunts of the 51st state, pricing threats and reports Canadians are held by American immigration and customs application (ICE) Allow all people.
“We are only two months after a four-year administration. If they keep this, there will be no Canadians who will come here-there will be a 100% boycott of this country,” he said.
Barbara Barrett is the executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, a group which represents 32 independent independent stores which dot the Canadian side of the land border from one ocean to another.
She said that the drop in travel is “catastrophic” and that stores mainly managed by which it represents see sales drop considerably.
She said sales have never really recovered after the pandemic and that now, with recent disturbances, are down approximately 80% compared to the figures before 2010.
“Without hyperbole, this is a disastrous situation. It is very worrying,” said Barrett in an interview with CBC News. “These are pandemic levels for sure. It is dramatic – the borders simply do not see traffic.”
The low exchange rate of Canada-US, which is partly motivated by Trump’s trade policies, has made the getaway over the border less attractive for many Canadian tourists and the buyers of good business hunting.
But Barrett said that cross-border traffic drops are not due to the bad exchange rate-she thinks that she is motivated by the anti-tarif feeling that has led many Canadians to go to the United States while the country is in this fight with Trump.
“We have seen the dollar fluctuating from top to bottom before and we have not seen this kind of dramatic decline,” she said. “If it was the dollar – we would have a flood of Americans who come and that we do not see that.”
Beyond passenger vehicles, there are other signs of displacement deposit in CBP data.
The number of truck drivers making the cross -border trip went from 493,000 in February 2024 to 473,000 this year.
There are relatively few pedestrians crossing the border on foot in the winter dead, but these figures were also lower. CBP indicated that the number of walkers had increased from around 117,000 in February 2024 to 99,000 last month.
The number of passengers traveling by plane in the United States was held regularly and increased slightly compared to the same month last year – 50,000 more people made the trip – but even plane trips reached a lower number of months.
Plane trips are generally reserved for weeks or months in advance and are generally more difficult to cancel than a day on the ground. Some airlines have also reported since A crisis with American reservations.
Statistics Canada data support what CBP reports.
In February, the number of Canadian residents of the United States’s return by the automobile fell by 23% compared to the same month in 2024, According to the agency.
There were approximately 1.2 million back trips last month, against 1.5 million the previous year.
The Federal Agency described these figures as a “steep” drop, comparable to the department registered during the health crisis when stopping.
There was also a drop in Americans to come to Canada by the automobile, but the decline was not as dramatic, discovered Statscan, with a crisis of 7.9% recorded.
Trump first launched his trade war with Canada on February 1, which prompted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to answer with reprisal prices and a call to Canadians to buy local products and to travel to Canada.
Trudeau has urged people to “choose Canada” to send a signal to the White House that the country will not defend the punishing prices that have the potential to torpedo the economy.
“This could mean changing your summer holiday plans, staying here in Canada and exploring the many sites, national parks and historic destinations that our country has to offer,” he said.
New data show that Canadians are traveling less trips to the United States, especially on the ground, many of which citing the political climate under American President Donald Trump as the main reason for not crossing the border.
Trump imposed 25% prices on certain Canadian products to suppose action on drugs and migrants at the border. He then added another price layer with a 25% sample on steel and aluminum imports.
The president should also strike Canada with more “reprisal” prices on April 2.
Canada has struck with its own countermeasures, which, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney, will remain in place “until the Americans show us respect”.