So you stopped going to the USA well before the current administration. What changed your patterns back then?

Only 54% Full: Air Canada's 10 Emptiest US Routes Revealed

In 2025, Air Canada carried 11 million passengers to/from the US. According to the US Department of Transportation, this was only the carrier's sixth most-trafficked year to date. Partly due to the political situation and reduced interest in US travel, passenger numbers fell by more than 15% compared to 2024.

Seems to be turning around slightly. People have short memories and resolve weakens when it is somewhere you want to go. I see it among my own friends who are starting to justify their upcoming travel to the US. I had guessed it wouldn't last until the end of this year.

Canadian travel to U.S. up slightly, ending 15 month slide: StatCan

MAY 11, 2026
Canadian trips south of the border have gone down significantly since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. But as Jillian Piper reports, new data from Statistics Canada suggests the travel boycott is starting to weaken.

Probably all the Habs fans heading to Tampa and Buffalo for the Stanley Cup playoffs

As these are the same fine government employees who bring us stats about how inflation is not a problem, the RE market is OK, government debt is manageable, etc, I'll reserve judgement until more long term figures from airlines are released. FWIW many American news reports on YT and other media do not portray the position taken by Stats Can, but, that's just my non-Omni interpretation of the veracity of their report.

Personally, even though I live in South America now, I still travel internationally 2-3 times a year, but for the last 4 years I have refused to enter the US, regardless of how inexpensive or less complicated the routing may be, or patronize US air carriers. I used to have a NEXUS card for 15 years, so, I have no cross border skeletons in my closet.

My Habs loving sister is in YUL tonight for the game. Drove there from Petawawa with her BF. They paid $1,000 CAD EACH for bottom bowl center ice tickets.

Anecdotally I was seeing more passengers on flights to Arizona and Florida this winter. I never stopped going south other than during the pandemic.

I'm less sure the trend is really changing as just for some context the new StatsCan numbers mentioned in the Global News report had Canadians travelling to U.S. in April 2026 up by 1.4% compared the same month last year but April 2025 was immediately after the Liberation Day tariff rhetoric when the boycott really began in earnest. Bit like the stock market plunging sharply, then inching up a hair as the overall effect is still sharply negative.

There's also new data suggesting the boycott may be stronger than some stats indicated:

Travel to the U.S. is down even more dramatically than we thought, data shows

While official Statistics Canada figures show a roughly 25 per cent decline in Canadian residents returning from the U.S. last year, cell phone data compiled by researchers at the University of Toronto's School of Cities found that the year-over-year drop in cross-border trips was closer to 42 per cent.

Canadian tourists are skipping Arizona in 2026

My business flights to Florida remain packed.

Are the flights full because airlines including AC have reduced capacity on Florida routes?

Air Canada Reduces Capacity On Florida Flights

That is a good question. Planes have shrunk, to be sure, with the widebodies that once operated my MIA and TPA trips more often these days replaced by A320s, 7M8s and A220s. That said, I see a similar trend on my YYC and YEG flights so it's tough to say if capacity changes on US routes are a result of the current wave of anti-Aericanism in our country or are simply part of a broader movement toward achieving increased efficiencies, particularly in the face of growing competition from PD and WS. I don't know the answer to that.

Honestly, it was COVID that started the reduction and when you don't do something for a couple of years, the want/need changes. Then the DON came in and any desire...............