Southbound border travel by B.C. residents took another drop in March, with new numbers showing travel has dropped by 55 per cent over the last two years at the four busiest crossings.
New data from the Cascade Gateway Border Data Warehouse and Whatcom Council of Governments for the Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas points of entry show the number of vehicles with B.C. licence plates travelling into the U.S. fell to less than half the amount reported before Donald Trump became U.S. president and began talking about annexing Canada, as well as launching a trade war.
Southbound travel in March by B.C. cars and trucks declined from 216,284 in 2024, to 123,592 in 2025, to 96,709 in 2026.
Volume for all plates dropped from 312,989 in 2024, to 172,990 in 2026, a 45 per cent decline.
New figures for the Kenneth G. Ward U.S. land crossing from Aldergrove into Lynden, Wash. show traffic fell about a third over the last year.
Average weekly southbound volumes at the Lynden point of entry fell from a cumulative seven-day total of 4,905 in March of 2025 to 3,363 in March of this year, a drop of 31.44 per cent. Figures for March 2024 were not available.
A forecast by the U.S. Travel Association predicted the decision by many Canadians to stay away would mean a 3.2 per cent decline in international tourism spending, and a loss of $5.7 billion U.S. that would put roughly 14,000 American jobs at risk.
Visit Seattle was projecting a 26.9 per cent decline in international overnight visitation to Seattle in 2025, almost all of it due to reduced travel from Canada.
Several opinion polls have reported some Canadians are avoiding travel to the U.S. due to safety concerns, based on reports of violent tactics being deployed by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers.
Destination Canada, a national tourism organization, reported many Canadians appeared to be playing tourist in their own country instead, with the domestic tourism spending up six per cent from the previous year.
More Canadians have also been going to Mexico, producing a 12 per cent surge in visits.