Over the past year, Josh Loewen could hardly escape the charm offensive from American tourism organizations.
uncertain
Loewen → escape → organizations
Across billboards, banners, and digital platforms, US states and cities declared their fondness for Canada, promising tailored discounts to entice travelers from north of the border.
asserted
states → declare → border
As a marketing executive based in Vancouver, Loewen said he understands the conciliatory overtures.
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he → base → overtures
Canadian travel to the United States plunged after President Donald Trump returned to office with remarks about making Canada the 51st state.
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Canada → plunge → remarks
An acrimonious trade war now is threatening to reinforce the informal boycott just as it appeared to be easing slightly.
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it → threaten → boycott
"It’s such a big ask right now,” Loewen, 45, said of the attempts to woo Canadians like him back before a new president occupies the White House.
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president → ’ → House
“It’s just a wasted effort.”
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It → ’ → ?
Relations between the U.S. and Canadian governments have deteriorated sharply since their trade negotiations collapsed last month.
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negotiations → deteriorate → governments
Trump imposed import taxes of up to 50 percent on a range of Canadian products.
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Trump → impose → products
Canada’s government responded in kind.
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government → respond → kind
Trump ordered the U.S. government to change the name of border-spanning Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”
asserted
Trump → order → America
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed insults from members of Trump's Cabinet as childish and undignified.
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Carney → dismiss → Cabinet
The bilateral rift has not stopped state and local tourism officials and popular destinations like Graceland from trying to persuade Canadian visitors to return.
New York state launched a “NY Loves Canada” promotion this summer, offering discounts at hotels, restaurants and attractions.
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NY → stop → hotels
Some downtown Las Vegas hotels are treating the Canadian dollar as equivalent to the U.S. dollar to give Canadian visitors more value for their money.
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hotels → treat → money
Las Vegas tourism officials went to Canada last month to meet with travel advisers, tour operators and airline representatives.
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officials → go → advisers
“We’re here to make sure you know that we care about Canada," Steve Hill, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said while in Vancouver.
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Hill → ’re → Vancouver
The outreach is happening at the national level, too.
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outreach → happen → level
Brand USA, the U.S. tourism industry’s marketing organization, is bringing its Travel Week trade-event series to Canada for the first time in October, expanding and rebranding an earlier program known as Canada Connect.
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USA → bring → Connect
Travel to the U.S. from Canada remains well below 2024 levels
Canada traditionally sent more overnight international visitors to the United States than any other country.
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Canada → remain → country
Amid last year's consumer-led backlash, both same-day trips and longer stays nosedived.
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trips → lead → backlash
Canadian residents made 25 percent fewer return border crossings and spent about $2.4 billion (CA$3.3 billion) less on travel to the U.S. in 2025 than they had the year before, according to Canada's national statistical agency, Statistics Canada.
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they → make → agency
The retreat coincided with other headwinds, including a weaker Canadian dollar that made traveling to the U.S. more expensive and rising prices for airfares and hotels.
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traveling → coincide → airfares
Canadian air travel to the U.S. started declining in September 2023, Statistics Canada data shows.
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data → start → September
But the abrupt pullback in stateside travel that accompanied Trump's second presidency and extended into this year signaled “a persistent shift away from the United States by Canadian residents in their travel preferences,” agency analysts said in a July report.
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analysts → accompany → report
Tentative signs of improvement emerged in May, June and July, when border crossings picked up slightly, the agency reported.
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agency → emerge → May
The latter two months coincided with the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S., Canada and Mexico cohosted.
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U.S. → coincide → which
Canada’s national soccer team competed during the tournament's early weeks, giving some Canadians a reason to head south.
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team → compete → reason
Carney attended the final match in New Jersey alongside Trump.
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Carney → attend → Trump
Trips by car accounted for most of the uptick in cross-border traffic, while air travel to the U.S. fell from year-earlier levels in every month through June, Statistics Canada said.
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Canada → account → June
The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office estimates that during the first six months of 2026, Canadians made even fewer overnight visits, which typically generate more tourism spending, than they did during the same period last year.
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they → estimate → period
Snowbirds may provide a barometer of Canadian sentiment
A day after the World Cup ended, Trump announced that tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods would take effect in 30 days.
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tariffs → provide → days
The White House said the tariffs were intended to address U.S. complaints over Canadian barriers to American-made automobiles, alcohol and dairy.
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tariffs → say → automobiles
“You went from this really high, exciting moment for the U.S. in terms of international attention, to the next week, it’s negative again,” said Deborah Friedland, a hospitality consultant at financial services firm Eisner Advisory Group.
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Friedland → go → Group
“It’s one step forward and two steps back.”
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It → ’ → ?
With the summer now winding down, some of the U.S. destinations most dependent on Canadian visitors are heading into their most important season.
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some → wind → season
Large numbers of Canadian snowbirds typically flock to warm-weather locations in Florida, Arizona and California when temperatures drop at home, making the coming months a test of whether the grassroots boycott will extend into another winter.
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boycott → flock → winter
“I’d be surprised if we’re talking a year from now and all of a sudden you see this huge uptick in Canadian travel over the winter months," Friedland said.
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Friedland → talk → months
Jennifer Adams, tourism director for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area in Florida’s Panhandle, said she never panicked when headlines about Canadians shunning travel to the U.S. first appeared last year.
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Canadians → say → U.S.
“I felt our message was strong," she said, adding that “the thing for us is to let the Canadian family know that they are welcomed here and we are committed to giving them a great experience when they get here.”
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they → feel → experience
Florida recorded a seven percent decline in Canadian visitors in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to state marketing organization Visit Florida.
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Florida → record → Florida
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
