Staggering Drop of Canadian Visitors to U.S. Cities Under Trump Revealed
The Daily Beast • • business
Key Points:
- Visits by Canadians to major U.S. cities have plummeted by 42 percent during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to University of Toronto research tracking cellphone activity.
- The decline far exceeds the 25 percent drop reported by official border-crossing data and affects not only tourist destinations but also key economic hubs like New York, Las Vegas, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- The slump is attributed to factors including tariffs on Canadian goods, increased immigration enforcement, and broader economic anxieties impacting both tourism and business travel.
- Cities with strong economic ties to Canada, such as Grand Rapids due to the auto industry, have seen significant reductions in work-related visits, reflecting disrupted cross-border business interactions.
- Researchers suggest the data may also reflect Canadians who previously lived temporarily in the U.S. returning home, indicating a deeper shift beyond just travel patterns.