Fewer passengers to the U.S. from Canada?
#61
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Aug 2002
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There may be some trepidation from US citizens on what welcome they'll receive, but I honestly would place more weight on economic reasoning. I think there's a lot more belt tightening. The cost of living is quickly becoming an issue for people at home.
We're headed to the Maritimes in September and the hotel cost in Halifax was an eye-opener. Even Dartmouth was pricey The cottage in PEI wasn't the bargain of 20-25 years ago, but still affordable.
We're headed to the Maritimes in September and the hotel cost in Halifax was an eye-opener. Even Dartmouth was pricey The cottage in PEI wasn't the bargain of 20-25 years ago, but still affordable.
As for your PEI trip, if you are driving, the cost of driving on the bridge from/to the mainland dropped by half less than a month ago, so you have good timing
#62

Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 232
We get a lot of cruise ship customers from US here in Victoria, and AFAIK there have been no reports of locals taking it out on Americans.
As for your PEI trip, if you are driving, the cost of driving on the bridge from/to the mainland dropped by half less than a month ago, so you have good timing
As for your PEI trip, if you are driving, the cost of driving on the bridge from/to the mainland dropped by half less than a month ago, so you have good timing

Although it is off topic, at some time in the distant past there was a hydrofoil service from a beach on PEI to the Iles de la Madeleine. It had to be about 2000 because my son was 2 or 3 and he and I loved it. Flying over sandbars. His mom was not enjoying the ride. I only mention it because there's no trace of it on an internet search. I have started to doubt my memory and maybe I can find validation from someone.
#63




Join Date: Nov 2019
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Although it is off topic, at some time in the distant past there was a hydrofoil service from a beach on PEI to the Iles de la Madeleine. It had to be about 2000 because my son was 2 or 3 and he and I loved it. Flying over sandbars. His mom was not enjoying the ride. I only mention it because there's no trace of it on an internet search. I have started to doubt my memory and maybe I can find validation from someone.
#64

Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 232
Sounds like you're actually talking about a hovercraft/aroglisseur, and this appears to be what you're referring to: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15Ru2bZaqG/.
That was some super sleuthing.
Last edited by Falco16; Aug 22, 2025 at 10:02 am
#65

Join Date: Jul 2024
Location: DFW
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 221
Here's our report. We (US citizens) spent 1 week starting Sept. 27 driving between Montreal and Quebec city. We had no bad experiences with anyone during the trip. We tried a bit of French but all Canadians did reach out to us with very good English. The prices in the restaurants seemed reasonable to very good. Gasoline a bit pricey. Avoided the big chain hotels and stayed at smaller ones which we really enjoyed. Fall colors were great at Maurecie, Frontinac and Mount Scotch Cap. So glad we did do the trip!
P.S. Would recommend avoiding Routes Car Rental. Many people unhappy for slow service, demanding insurance payments, and not documenting dents at pick up. We had our reservation cancelled for being 1 hour late (caused by their slow shuttle and long service line at pickup). At YUL, would recommend using a rental company that is in the airport vs. Routes which has shuttle to remote site.
P.S. Would recommend avoiding Routes Car Rental. Many people unhappy for slow service, demanding insurance payments, and not documenting dents at pick up. We had our reservation cancelled for being 1 hour late (caused by their slow shuttle and long service line at pickup). At YUL, would recommend using a rental company that is in the airport vs. Routes which has shuttle to remote site.
#66




Join Date: Sep 2025
Posts: 188
In the summer I made a couple of trips from Canada to USA (Calgary to Los Angeles and Toronto to New York) and I asked a couple of questions on either TripAdvisor or Expedia regards the USA pre-clearance at the Canadian Airports and was told no-one from Canada is going to the USA any more and the the flights would be empty etc.
Had no issues getting through the USA pre-checks but both flights were pretty full and it wasn't even peak-time (late May). They went to great odds to blame Trump but I can only speak for myself when I seen zero evidence of it.
Granted, that was only 2-flights. I'm not saying the reports of traffic being 20-40% down are misleading or anything (I wouldn't know) - I can only share my own experiences.
Had no issues getting through the USA pre-checks but both flights were pretty full and it wasn't even peak-time (late May). They went to great odds to blame Trump but I can only speak for myself when I seen zero evidence of it.
Granted, that was only 2-flights. I'm not saying the reports of traffic being 20-40% down are misleading or anything (I wouldn't know) - I can only share my own experiences.
#67

Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 232
In the summer I made a couple of trips from Canada to USA (Calgary to Los Angeles and Toronto to New York) and I asked a couple of questions on either TripAdvisor or Expedia regards the USA pre-clearance at the Canadian Airports and was told no-one from Canada is going to the USA any more and the the flights would be empty etc.
Had no issues getting through the USA pre-checks but both flights were pretty full and it wasn't even peak-time (late May). They went to great odds to blame Trump but I can only speak for myself when I seen zero evidence of it.
Granted, that was only 2-flights. I'm not saying the reports of traffic being 20-40% down are misleading or anything (I wouldn't know) - I can only share my own experiences.
Had no issues getting through the USA pre-checks but both flights were pretty full and it wasn't even peak-time (late May). They went to great odds to blame Trump but I can only speak for myself when I seen zero evidence of it.
Granted, that was only 2-flights. I'm not saying the reports of traffic being 20-40% down are misleading or anything (I wouldn't know) - I can only share my own experiences.
That would explain fuller planes.
#68




Join Date: Sep 2025
Posts: 188
#69

Join Date: Dec 2024
Posts: 232
Absolutely. I know Las Vegas officials have acknowledged and addressed the loss of Canadian tourists and that it isn't just an Internet rumour.
#70




Join Date: Jun 2010
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I continue flying to Florida for work every couple of weeks and can confirm both reduced frequency and remaining flights being absolutely packed as a result. My ride home on Friday needed such a long takeoff run I was starting to wonder if we were just driving back to Toronto.
#72
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#73
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I grew up in a border town and still have friends and family there. They regularly crossed to shop but since the tariff tumult have stopped or cutback and have discovered that food prices are not that much higher in Canada and the additional cost of bridge tolls makes the savings marginal. Even if tensions eased they are unlikely to resume their old habits.
#74




Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
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Only 2 booths were open going into the USA at Lewiston last week but only a 3-4 minute wait. Not sure who is shopping in the states. We take down most of our own food. My credit card bill has rate exchanges of 1.429, ouch.
#75
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The trend continues...
https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/...c3b63af20.html
https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/...c3b63af20.html
MONTREAL - Canadians continued to steer clear of the United States in October, with the month marking yet another major drop in year-over-year visitors.
The number of Canadian residents who returned by car from the U.S. fell to 1.4 million in October, a 30.5 per cent drop from the same period in 2024, according to preliminary data from Statistics Canada.
The number of Canadians returning home from south of the border by air sank to 437,300, down 24 per cent.
The number of Canadian residents who returned by car from the U.S. fell to 1.4 million in October, a 30.5 per cent drop from the same period in 2024, according to preliminary data from Statistics Canada.
The number of Canadians returning home from south of the border by air sank to 437,300, down 24 per cent.

