New geopolitical occasions round Venezuela and Greenland have pushed President Donald Trump’s references to Canada as a “51st state” and focusing on of Canada with tariffs considerably into the background.
Nonetheless, Canadians proceed to protest the present administration’s hostile stance towards their nation with considerably decrease journey numbers.
In November 2025, the final month for which journey numbers have to this point been launched, the variety of Canadians returning house from journeys to the U.S. by aircraft was down by 19.3%. Automotive journey returns have been additionally down by 28.6% within the eleventh consecutive month of such decreases.
A current report from the U.S. Journey Affiliation now predicts that the decline in each Canadian and Mexican guests will value the U.S. journey trade greater than $5.7 billion.
Air Canada, WestJet, Aptitude Airways minimize capability on flights to U.S. in first quarter
These declines are already exhibiting by way of the routes Canadian airways select to run and what number of seats they minimize. In keeping with flight log knowledge from OAG Aviation, cited by The Journey, Canadian airways are operating 10% fewer seats on flights to the U.S. for the primary quarter of 2026 in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
This common features a 19% flight-reduction capability by Calgary-based WestJet, a 7% drop for flag provider Air Canada, and a 58% decline for Edmonton-based low-cost provider Aptitude Airways. The whole leads to greater than 450,000 fewer passengers flown, or roughly 5,000 seats minimize per day.
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In alternate, the airways are ramping up flights to different locations reminiscent of Mexico, Costa Rica, and main European cities to which there was an inflow of Canadians redirecting their journey {dollars}.
“If we can derisk this a little bit and move and be a bit proactive and move capacity into other sectors [where] we see strength, I think that’s the right move right now in this context,” Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s govt vp, income and community planning, advised buyers at a press convention in March 2025.
WestJet launched an identical assertion saying it “continuously evaluates and adjusts its schedule to meet demand.” Cities reminiscent of Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Newark have seen among the largest airline seat cuts.
Vacationers from Canadian cities like Toronto and Montreal have more and more sought out non-U.S. locations for his or her holidays.
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Las Vegas hit significantly onerous by Canada journey dropoff, different cities affected
Whereas lots of the similar airways anticipate an eventual rebound and launching flights to different U.S. cities the place demand stayed robust, the journey dropoff has disproportionately hit cities that depend on tourism.
In a number of press conferences on the finish of the summer time, Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley stated the variety of vacationers from Canada and Mexico has slowed “from a faucet to a drip.”
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California Governor Gavin Newsom put out related calls, telling Canadians that they continue to be welcome in liberal states like California, whatever the present rhetoric popping out of Washington.
“I’m telling everybody in Canada, please come,” Berkley stated in September 2025. “We love you, we need you, and we miss you.”
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