Canadians are moving differently in 2025 – and it’s a game changer

Since the beginning of the year, we've felt a real change: more and more Canadians are giving up on trips to the United States. Why? Because of trade tensions with our southern neighbors. People are a little fed up, and that's...

It's starting to show in the numbers.

According to Statistics Canada, in April 2025, there were 20% fewer Canadians returning from the United States by air compared to last year, and 26% fewer by land. Yes, the Easter break inflated the numbers a bit, but even so, the trend is clear: we're looking elsewhere.

But be careful, this doesn't mean that Canadians are no longer traveling. In fact, they are simply choosing other international destinations . Last month, 114,000 more Canadians returned from places other than the United States , which represents a 10% increase.

There's also a small "Buy Canadian" effect being felt. Fewer trips abroad potentially means more money spent here: in our restaurants, hotels, events, and businesses.

From an economic perspective, it's interesting: if Canadians stay here, it's good for our tourism industry . During the pandemic, we saw that Canadians are the number one force in local tourism – in 2024, domestic travel accounted for more than three-quarters of the country's tourism demand.

At the same time, the United States could lose big . Fewer Canadian tourists (and also fewer Europeans and Asians) means less revenue for its tourism sector. And since this spending counts as service exports , it could widen its trade deficit—the exact opposite of what its government is trying to do with its tariffs.

For Canada, this is a small ray of sunshine amid the global economic storm. But we shouldn't be fooled either. If our job market slows and unemployment rises, households will have less money. And that could also slow the tourism recovery.

In short, in 2025, we may be traveling a little less far, but we'll keep our dollars here. And that, for a company like mine (and for many of you), is a great opportunity to seize.

– Frederico Panetta CEO, entrepreneur, local builder above all