Even though President Donald Trump eventually dialed down statements about Canada as “the 51st state” made at the start of his second term, visitor numbers across the northern border remains at record lows as large numbers Canadians continue to boycott both leisure and business travel.
Numbers from travel agency Flight Centre shows that business travel from Canada to the U.S. dropped by 40% in the first half of 2025 while the monthly report from Statistics Canada shows that the number of Canadians coming back from visits across the border was down 14.9% from August 2024 — while lower than the 24% decrease recorded a month earlier in July, this still marks the seventh consecutive month of dropping numbers.
Local airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet have both also cut flights to smaller U.S. cities several times amid low demand.
U.S. ambassador targets Canadian preclearance: ‘We paid for it’
On Sept. 25, U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra expressed his displeasure with these low travel numbers at a meeting with various local business leaders as also seen through airport preclearance stations used at major Canadian airports for travelers to clear U.S. customs and immigration prior to boarding.
“Matter of fact, the numbers are down,” Hoekstra said at the forum reported by national Canadian broadcaster CBC. “We’re not sure we can make the numbers work anymore … pre-clearance is something that is done at the expense of the U.S. government. We paid for it.”
First introduced at Toronto Pearson International Airport and Calgary International Airport under a program pioneered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, preclearance facilities are a way for travelers from friendly nations to clear customs in their own country and in doing so avoid longer lines and the potential of being detained or sent back upon arrival.
While Canada is the only country with preclearance facilities in every major airport, single locations also exist in airports in Ireland, Bermuda, Aruba, The Bahamas and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Image source: Shutterstock
Getting rid of preclearance is ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face,’ forum moderator tells Hoekstra
Former Canadian diplomat and forum moderator Colin Robertson pointed out preclearance’s long history and told Hoekstra that his comments connecting them to travel numbers sounded like a threat to “cut off your nose to spite your face.”
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Hoekstra, in turn, denied the interpretation of his comment as a threat by saying that any decisions would be “business people” who need to “take a look at the why” travel numbers are down.
“Nobody said we’re ending pre-clearance,” Hoekstra said to Robinson. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
At several points in the last year, Hoekstra has also criticized what he classified as “anti-American sentiment” amid Canadians and the Canadian government’s choice to update its travel advisory to focus on the risk of deportation under the new administration.
“If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I’m not denying that it happened, but I’m saying it’s an isolated event and it is not a pattern,” Hoekstra told the Canadian Press in June 2025. “Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don’t do that. America is a welcoming place.”
Related: Another airline to cut all flights to US city, refunds available
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