Travel from Canada to Michigan dips 10% amid boycotts, border security fears

• The number of Canadians crossing the border into Michigan has declined sharply since Trump took office
• Canadian officials have encouraged the country’s citizens to boycott the US in response to tariffs and other Trump administration policies  
• Tourism officials are bracing for a hit as summer vacation season approaches

Border crossings between Canada and Michigan are down more than 10% from this time last year, as fear and resentment over the Trump administration’s policies prompt Canadians to cancel vacations and business trips to the US.

Michigan tourism officials say they’re bracing for a dip in business, while travel agents in Canada predict that the decline will worsen as their clients look elsewhere when planning summer vacations.

The travel boycott comes after President Donald Trump strained the United States’ relationship with one of its closest neighbors, trade partners and allies by referring to Canada as “the 51st state,” telling the nation’s prime minister he wants to revise the boundary between the two countries, and levying 25% tariffs on many imported Canadian goods.

Recent detentions of tourists at the US border have further chilled tourism, prompting some foreign travelers to avoid the US out of fear.

In response to the tariffs, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to fight back, saying they should “choose Canada” for their summer vacation plans instead of traveling to the United States.

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It appears Canadians were listening: February border crossings from Canada into the US were down 508,000 compared to the same month last year, with about 108,000 fewer people crossing into Michigan. 

That’s prompting concerns within the state’s tourism industry, which benefitted from 714,000 Canadian visitors in 2023 spending a collective $238 million, according to state tourism officials. 

Numbers from 2024 haven’t yet been tallied but are expected to be higher, reflecting a continued rebound from travel restrictions imposed earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“MEDC and Travel Michigan will continue to extend a warm welcome to Canadian visitors as they explore the natural beauty, vibrant communities, and rich history and culture found in destinations from Detroit to the Upper Peninsula,” read a statement from Kelly Wolgamott, vice president of Pure Michigan.

Nationally, a 10% drop in Canadian tourism would cost the US 14,000 jobs and $2.1 billion in business, according to the US Travel Association.

To be clear, Canadian travelers make up a small fraction of the roughly 128 million tourists who visit Michigan annually. But border towns like Detroit, Port Huron and Sault Ste. Marie may be disproportionately affected.

On Mackinac Island, officials say they’re monitoring the situation and hoping to have a clearer picture of impacts by the time summer tourism season begins.

"While it’s too soon to determine the full impact on travel decisions, we do anticipate a possible shift in Canadian sentiment on travel to Mackinac Island this season," said Tim Hygh, executive director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau.

Canadian travel agents say already, their clients are canceling trips to the US or ruling the country out of their future travel plans.

“Travel to the US, future bookings, future requests, are all severely down,” said Al Valente, owner of Valente Travel in Windsor.

Canadians see Trump’s increasingly hostile trade policies toward their nation as “a slap in the face from our best friend,” he said. “We feel like we've been duped. That this intertwined economy that we’ve been building over the last several decades is all of a sudden crashing down because of one person.”

Valente said he has canceled two personal trips so far: A golf trip that would have brought him and 11 friends to the Lansing area, and a work convention in Las Vegas.

Seasonal declines in border crossings are typical, but this year’s has been abnormally sharp. It reflects the first year-over-year decline in crossings since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted.

The losses were consistent across every Michigan entry point: In Sault Ste Marie, home of the International Bridge, February land crossings were down 9,600 compared to 2024. In Port Huron, home of the Blue Water Bridge, they were down 34,500; in Detroit, home of the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, 52,000, and in Algonac, where a ferry crosses to Walpole Island, Ontario, 1,375. 

Meanwhile, Air Canada is considering curtailing its US flight locations and instead offering more routes to Mexico and the Caribbean. And the Canadian government has updated its travel guidelines for the US, urging citizens visiting for more than 30 days to register with the US government to avoid “penalties, fines, and misdemeanor prosecution."