Canadians Traveling to the USA in 2025

Heard about this from someone in the west. . This is the most bizarre thing I've heard off. Looks like US customs checking docs for all people leaving the US well before the Canada customs. Understand it was just at the H street overpass.
I live just outside Vancouver and my friends mom, who lives just south of Bellingham, came up on Thursday and got caught up in this. This was at Peace Arch crossing so they were doing it both there and at truck crossing. Also FYI this is not the first time the CBP have done this before getting to the CDN border, it was just widely publicized this time because of the traffic back up it caused. The CBP have been doing this off and on for years.
 
I live just outside Vancouver and my friends mom, who lives just south of Bellingham, came up on Thursday and got caught up in this. This was at Peace Arch crossing so they were doing it both there and at truck crossing. Also FYI this is not the first time the CBP have done this before getting to the CDN border, it was just widely publicized this time because of the traffic back up it caused. The CBP have been doing this off and on for years.
Thanks for the context. I was not aware they did this. Wonder if they do it at all crossings. Maybe stop the guns and drugs from coming into Canada.
 

Thanks for the context. I was not aware they did this. Wonder if they do it at all crossings. Maybe stop the guns and drugs from coming into Canada.
The day my friends mom got stuck I looked at the cameras for the two smaller Lower Mainland crossings as well into Canada (Sumas and Aldergrove), neither of which had any line up. Nor did I see any CBP cars on the cameras....maybe it was less obvious there so take it with a grain of salt, just saying what I found on the cameras lol In both the PA and Truck crossings, the CBP cars were visible.
 
Just found out that I’m due to travel to LA for work in June. Hoping my dealings at border go smoothly.
Hope so too! I’ve had smooth sailings so far on personal trips, but they do tend to give a little more scrutiny for people entering the U.S. “for work,” even when it’s totally legitimate.

Given how far Los Angeles (or Louisiana?) are from the border you’re hopefully pre-clearing at a Canadian airport anyway!
 
Hope so too! I’ve had smooth sailings so far on personal trips, but they do tend to give a little more scrutiny for people entering the U.S. “for work,” even when it’s totally legitimate.

Given how far Los Angeles (or Louisiana?) are from the border you’re hopefully pre-clearing at a Canadian airport anyway!
Ugh, and that’s what I worry about:delays/ hassle because I’m visiting on business. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. Btw, I assume I’ll be clearing customs in Canada (Winnipeg to Calgary, Calgary to Los Angeles). Fun fact - the direct flight that I was originally booked on (Winnipeg to LA) was cut and now I have the joy of a layover.. ugh.
 
Better a layover than a sprint through the airport to make your connection. We had an LA to YYZ that they changed to a connection in Calgary with 45 min layover (might have been that tight because the plane was late landing). Amazingly we made it.
 
Ugh, and that’s what I worry about:delays/ hassle because I’m visiting on business. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. Btw, I assume I’ll be clearing customs in Canada (Winnipeg to Calgary, Calgary to Los Angeles). Fun fact - the direct flight that I was originally booked on (Winnipeg to LA) was cut and now I have the joy of a layover.. ugh.
I think you'll be going through customs in Calgary... you'd have gone through in WPG for your direct flight, but my experience has always been if a connection is still in Canada, you don't hit customs until you land in the US.
 
Ugh, and that’s what I worry about:delays/ hassle because I’m visiting on business. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. Btw, I assume I’ll be clearing customs in Canada (Winnipeg to Calgary, Calgary to Los Angeles). Fun fact - the direct flight that I was originally booked on (Winnipeg to LA) was cut and now I have the joy of a layover.. ugh.

Yeah you will go through customs in Calgary. We just flew to LAX via YYC and did customs there. Super easy if you download the MPC app.
 
We had grand plans for a two-week trip in 2026 to WDW and Epic Universe.

Now we’re looking at Europe or Japan instead, either of which would likely include 1-2 days at parks but mostly cultural tourism.

For my whole life, I took our relationship with the US for granted. It’s shocking how much has changed, so quickly.

I do hope to one day visit WDW again, maybe after January 2029.
 
I do hope to one day visit WDW again, maybe after January 2029.

Well, the good news is that That Man says we will all be US citizens by then, so you won't have to go through customs.

This past Sunday at church, we had a visitor from Florida who has dual US/Canadian citizenship. He said he had some choice words he could say about That Man, but since we were inside a church, he declined to speak those words.

While my Mom was alive (she died 25 years ago), my siblings and I had the option of getting dual US/Canadian citizenship, but we all decided there was no compelling reason to do so. With the way the last few decades have unfolded, I'm very glad I didn't apply.

Stats Canada has released some travel statistics for April. The number of Canadians crossing the border each month continues to drop. Below are the statistics for February, March, and April, compared to the same month a year ago:

February, March, April 2025
-23% -32% -35% - drop in cars crossing the border from Canada to US
-2.4% -14% -20% - drop in Canadians flying into the US


According to the article I read, a 10% drop in Canadian tourism results in $2.1 billion in lost spending and puts 140k jobs at risk.

Canadians’ Trump-inspired US travel boycott intensified in April with further drops in car and plane trips

(ASIDE:
During WW2, Winston Churchill refused to utter the name "H", and referred to him as "That Man". I've decided to follow the same policy with "T".)
 
The Canadian tourism boycott of the US is certainly affecting all states that border Canada, and I could post articles about the Canadian boycott of each of those states. Since this is a Disney forum, and our primary concern is Florida and California, I'll instead give a link to an article describing the effect of the boycott on New York, Florida, and California. The article is a very interesting read. Below the link I will provide some excerpts.

More Than Four Billion USD Gone, Furious Canadian Tourists Boycott Slams US Tourism as Trump Policies Devastate Florida, New York, and California Travel Industry

I was hoping by now to do a post celebrating the Maple Leafs eliminating the Florida Panthers in four straight games. Alas, the Panthers won games 3 and 4. If the Panthers win game 5, I'll be very nervous about how this series will end.

*******

The scale of this crisis is unprecedented. Driven by anger over new immigration rules and aggressive tariff measures, furious Canadian tourists boycott long-beloved American destinations, leading to more than four billion USD gone from the US economy. The US tourism sector in Florida, New York, and California—once thriving thanks to snowbirds and loyal Canadian travelers—is now hemorrhaging revenue. Small business owners, hoteliers, and retailers are united in one desperate message: more than four billion USD gone, and the damage keeps growing.

At the heart of this meltdown are divisive Trump policies, which have shattered trust and sparked rage. The fallout is especially severe in Florida, New York, and California, where the travel industry relied heavily on loyal Canadian visitors. Today, those visitors are gone, and what remains is a painful wake-up call: furious Canadian tourists boycott, US tourism collapses, Trump policies devastate, and the travel industry suffers. The headlines say it all—more than four billion USD gone—and the crisis is far from over.

With summer and fall travel seasons approaching, the outlook remains grim. The economic loss of $4.3 billion may be just the beginning if policies remain unchanged. Tourism boards, local chambers, and hospitality leaders are calling for a diplomatic reset—and fast.
 
Proud of those holding the line. It can not be understated how much power we have when it comes to tourist dollars. Just think of the ants in bugs life. There is power in numbers. The only change to the US can come from lobbying from those in the US that are harmed. I too would love to be looking forward to a week at CSR at end of June. :-( at our favorite place.

Added link to article about this.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opi...vel-canadian-is-actually-making-a-difference/
 
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Reading those articles makes me so happy. We may not have a large population, but it's great to see what Canadians can do when we stick together! It will be interesting to see if the trends continue. I think that a lot of the travel that's happening this spring was booked earlier (which is why air travel fell more slowly than car traffic). I understand that people often can't afford to change plans that were booked far ahead, but most people I know aren't making any new plans. We'll probably see the real impact in fall when the snowbirds usually go down. I know that my sun-seeking family members are currently checking out options in Mexico and the Caribbean.

I also just saw a great article from the BBC directed at people from the UK with alternatives to popular American destinations such as Toronto instead of New York and Macau instead of Las Vegas. This could be a great opportunity for Canada to pull in more European tourists; offering the Maritimes instead of New England for example, or the Okanagan instead of Napa. We've got the Rockies, the Arctic, cowboys and great cities too. All the nature and wide open spaces with no handguns, ICE or magats. Win win I think.
 
I wonder if all those new WJ flights to Europe are actually aimed at European tourists wanting to travel to places like Halifax?

I was just in Montreal and Quebec. Did 5 walking tours and the other tourists were American and Canadian (equal numbers) and a few Europeans. One couple from the UK who had been to every Disney park in the world- wonder if they're around here lol.
 
Yearly visits by Canadians to the US have been steadily rising since we put COVID behind us. And, all indications were that 2025 would see a similar increase.

Then, in December, That Man started making his offensive comments about Canada. The drop in Canadians visiting the US was pretty well immediate and very dramatic.

A few posts back, I gave tourism statistics, year over year, for Feb through April. I've now tracked down info for Dec and Jan, and the trend is very satisfying:

-CAR- -AIR-
+7% +4.6% Dec
+1% -1.4% Jan
-23% -2.4% Feb
-32% -14% Mar
-35% -20% Apr


As others have already pointed out, it took a bit longer for the drop in visits by air to increase substantially, since many travellers (for example, me) are unwilling to take the financial hit of letting non-refundable air tickets go to waste

I wonder how much worse (from the American perspective) these statistics can get???
 
Reading those articles makes me so happy. We may not have a large population, but it's great to see what Canadians can do when we stick together! It will be interesting to see if the trends continue. I think that a lot of the travel that's happening this spring was booked earlier (which is why air travel fell more slowly than car traffic). I understand that people often can't afford to change plans that were booked far ahead, but most people I know aren't making any new plans. We'll probably see the real impact in fall when the snowbirds usually go down. I know that my sun-seeking family members are currently checking out options in Mexico and the Caribbean.

I also just saw a great article from the BBC directed at people from the UK with alternatives to popular American destinations such as Toronto instead of New York and Macau instead of Las Vegas. This could be a great opportunity for Canada to pull in more European tourists; offering the Maritimes instead of New England for example, or the Okanagan instead of Napa. We've got the Rockies, the Arctic, cowboys and great cities too. All the nature and wide open spaces with no handguns, ICE or magats. Win win I think.
Heck sign this US family up too, we need a vacation from *gestures all around*. We're visiting relatives in Nelson and Red Deer + heading to Banff for a few days in July; can't wait! My husband literally got approved for his citizenship today, so it's no longer entirely out of our possibility to move up there if things keep getting worse.

I have to say that on our side I've not heard a peep of how bad the financial hit has been. We're in Portland Oregon, so not exactly a huge tourist city, but still. I would have thought losses in the billions would be making the rounds in the news cycle...
 





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