Canadians appeared to be abandoning road trips to the U.S. amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s sovereignty and economic threats to their country.
The number of Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. plunged 23 per cent from a year ago in February, marking the second straight month with a year-over-year decline, Statistics Canada reported Monday.
The annual drops in January and February were the first and second since March 2021.
The decline in US travel comes as many Canadians embrace boycotts of American vacations and products, after Trump threatened to use “economic force” to annex Canada and impose devastating tariffs.
Canadians may have also opted to stay home due to the weak loonie making travel to the US more expensive. Snowstorms also blanketed parts of eastern and central Canada, impacting driving conditions.
The US is the most popular destination for international trips among Canadians. Canada consistently posts a services trade deficit with the US, mainly because of travel services.
The number of Canadian-resident return trips by air also fell 2.4% from the same month a year ago, the data showed.
Randy Thanthong-Knight, Bloomberg News
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