Nearly 900,000 fewer people came to the US from Canada last month

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Apr 16, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The number of people traveling to the United States from Canada plummeted in March.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said nearly 900,000 fewer people entered the U.S. from the north compared with the same period last year. That decline followed weeks of President Donald Trump insulting Canada by referring to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor” and suggesting the mineral-rich country should become a U.S. state.

Trump has also threatened to cripple the Canadian economy with tariffs. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) said Canadian visitors spent $20.5 billion in the U.S. last year.

Self-described “Hybrid Canadian” and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta told Canadians that getting Canadians to vacation in the Golden State has become more difficult.

“It’s been devastating culturally, economically,” she admitted. “I’m hurting for what’s going on in your country and I’m hurt being here in California.”

Border figures show 4,970,360 came to the U.S. from Canada in March 2024. That number dropped to 4,105,516 travelers a year later. More visitors reportedly traveled from Canada to the U.S. in March 2022 under pandemic-related travel restrictions that they did last month.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom released an ad Tuesday meant to lure Canadians to California, where March temperatures are much more inviting.

“You Know Who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don’t let that ruin your beach plans,” he said in that video.

Beteta shared those sentiments with the CBC.

“We want to reach out and extend that hand to Canadians and say, you’re valued, and we’re frustrated ,too,” she said.

The majority of Canadians who enter the U.S. do so in automobiles. In March 2024, 3.4 million passengers drove through the U.S. northern border. This year, that number dipped to 2.5 million. The CBC said 162,600 crossed the border by foot last March. Last month, only 120,800 took that walk.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a Canadian journalist during a Tuesday briefing that Trump maintains his belief that Canada should become a U.S. state.

________