HALIFAX - As many Canadians continue to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and the ongoing trade war between the two countries, they have also stubbornly boycotted American vacation destinations. However, there are now signs that Canadian travellers have slightly altered their attitudes. “We are still connected with the U.S. and we are very close,” said Myranda Miller, a travel agent and branch manager with Maritime Travel, a travel agency located in Halifax. Miller said many Canadian travellers have ignored enticements and money-saving travel deals from U.S. tourism operators. But according to Stats Canada, Canadians’ return trips by car from the U.S. jumped 5.6 per cent and those by air rose up 11.6 per cent in September, compared to the same time last year. Americans continue to travel to Canada by air and car in large numbers; 1.8 million visitors came north of the border last month, up 17.2 per cent from September 2025. While there is still a major drop-off in the number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. compared to pre-2025 trends, these statistics do underscore an uptick in recent travel. “People still have family in the United States that they want to go see,” said Miller. Also, a lot of cruise ships depart from U.S.-based ports, which means Canadians must travel south to connect with the ship. “And so, we are counted as Canadians travelling through those U.S. ports as having entered their country, but our destination might really be a Caribbean vacation,” said Dalhousie University professor Lorn Sheehan, who specializes in management and tourism destination. As for Americans heading north, the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar continues to attract big-spending visitors. “It is a marginal increase over last year,” said Ambassatours Gray Line tour company CEO Sean Buckland when he referred to American tourists visiting Canada. “When they come to our port in Halifax, they recognize that Canada is ‘on sale’ and they have increased value on the dollar, and we see that in what American visitors spend on a daily basis.” Sheehan expects Canadians will eventually return to normal travel habits when the political climate changes in the U.S. “Most Canadians’ resistance to travel in the USA is driven by the Trump administration, not the American people,” said Sheehan, who added, for proof of this, people should look no further than the level of hospitality Americans receive when they visit Canada. “They are treated like friends and neighbours, and I don’t expect those attitudes to change in the future.”
