Researchers find 42% drop in Canadians visiting US metro areas amid Trump 2.0
Source: The Guardian
Researchers find 42% drop in Canadians visiting US metro areas amid Trump 2.0
Data from University of Toronto suggests Canadians are avoiding US cities during the second Trump administration
Anna Betts
Mon 11 May 2026 11.00 BST
Last modified on Mon 11 May 2026 11.02 BST
A new research tool that tracks cell phone activity has found a 42% drop in visitors from Canada to big metropolitan areas in the US that is much higher than official border-crossing data, suggesting Canadians during the second Trump administration are avoiding US cities in particular.
Researchers from the University of Toronto said the tool showed a “year-over-year median decline of approximately 42% in Canadian visits to US metropolitan areas – significantly higher than official border-crossing data, which showed a roughly 25% decline”.
The economies of US border towns reliant on Canadian traffic have been slammed as their northerly neighbours think twice about travelling to the US, put off by immigration enforcement operations and border crackdowns, and anger at Donald Trump’s tariffs and his threats of making Canada “the 51st state”.
But the researchers said that their data also showed steep declines in Canadian visitors to cities, in states such as New York, New Hampshire and Vermont. It also found declines to major tourist destinations such as Las Vegas and Walt Disney World, and to winter recreation areas, including in Florida – typically a central destination for overwintering Canadians.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/11/canadians-visiting-us
= new reply since forum marked as read
If I were a foreigner thinking about visiting the US these days, I’d think twice, then think again about visiting the US unless it was absolutely, positively necessary.
Why should I subject myself and my loved ones to arbitrary arrest and detainment by immigration and customs officials either acting out of caprice or trying to meet their political-appointees’ arrest quotas? Unless it’s necessary, I’d stay away from what used to be the Land of the Free and go elsewhere.
What the stupid and vicious MAGA Magoos still supporting Trump’s policies fail to realize is that it’s a big world out there and while the US may still be a military superpower, it is no longer at the apex of the world’s economy.
