Almost 900,000 fewer people crossed the border from Canada to the U.S. last month compared to March 2024.
Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s one of the most severe drops in crossings, figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal.
As many as 4,105,516 travelers went across the border between Canada and the U.S. last month, compared to 4,970,360 people last year. That’s a decline of about 17 percent amid President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, threats to make Canada the 51st state, and tariffs.
More people traveled from Canada to the U.S. in March 2022 when pandemic travel restrictions were still in place. March tends to be one of the busiest times for cross-border travel as many take vacations in warmer parts of the U.S. during spring break.
Canadians spent as much as $20.5 billion in the U.S. last year, which supports around 140,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
The number of people crossing the border on foot also dropped substantially, falling about 26 percent from 163,000 in March last year to 121,000 this year.
In a new ad campaign, California Governor Gavin Newsom is attempting to attract Canadians despite Trump’s taunts.
"You know who's trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don't let that ruin your beach plans," he said in a video shared on Monday. "Here in California, we've got plenty of sunshine and a whole lot of love for our neighbors up north.”
The president and CEO of Visit California, which boosts travel to the Golden State, Caroline Beteta, told CBC News that, "Obviously we can't control decisions made 2,000 miles away on another coast. But we want to reach out and extend that hand to Canadians and say, you're valued, and we're frustrated too.”
She called Trump’s barbs “devastating” for Californian tourism, with the number of Canadian visitors this year expected to be much lower than the 1.8 million who came to the state last year.
"I'm not going to deny it. It's been devastating culturally, economically. I'm a hybrid Canadian, I'm hurting for what's going on in your country, and I'm hurt being here in California," Beteta told CBC News.
Meanwhile, Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte said Canadian visitors last year outnumbered the people who live in the town 10 times over. He noted that Canadians own about seven percent of the homes in Palm Springs.
"The Trump administration is sending messages that just don't feel very American,” the mayor told CBC News. “This is not the way we treat our neighbours, and we certainly don't treat friends like this. It's hurting people, and it's causing harm. We understand that this hits close to home to everybody in Canada."
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