After President Donald Trump repeatedly called Canada “the 51st state” and imposed sweeping tariffs on the country, Canadians began canceling vacation plans to their southern neighbor en masse.
A recent report from the U.S. Travel Association estimated that a 10% reduction in Canadian travel would cost the U.S. travel industry at least $2.1 billion and 140,000 lost jobs, while a separate report from Tourism Economics predicts that international tourism to the U.S. will now fall by 15.2% by the time 2025 is over. Flight Centre Travel Group Canada estimated that business travel from Canada has already dropped by 40% in the first months of 2025.
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‘Don’t let Trump ruin your vacation plans,’ California governor tells Canadians
In such a climate, California Governor Gavin Newsom put out a video urging Canadians to visit his Democratic state on several social media platforms.
“The Golden State and Canada have always shared so much in common,” Newsom wrote in a post that also announced a new travel campaign aimed specifically at Canadians. “Sure, you-know-who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don’t let that ruin your vacation plans.”
Related: Canada updates its advisory about U.S. travel
In the video address, Newsom also refers to California as “the ultimate playground” and “2,000 miles away from Washington and a world away in mindset.”
Even so, multiple polls show that Canadian attitudes toward the U.S. have plummeted swiftly under the current administration. The Canadian government has also recently put out an advisory telling citizens to “expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices” at U.S. borders at the start of April.
Canadian travel to the U.S. plummeted sharply under the new Trump administration.
Image source: Getty Images
Canada’s new travel advisory warns of potential detention, device searches
“Comply and be forthcoming in all interactions with border authorities,” now reads an advisory that previously simply told Canadians that the decision to allow entry ultimately lies with the border official. “If you are denied entry, you could be detained while awaiting deportation.”
The Trump administration has also started requiring Canadian visitors who enter the country by land and stay more than 30 days to register online. As the announcement was made before the portal to do so was even launched, the change sowed confusion and disincentivized some Canadians from travel out of both protest and fear of accidentally running afoul of immigration laws.
All this also comes amid the high-profile case of 35-year-old Canadian actress and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney; she spent 12 days in detention at the Otay Mesa detention center in San Diego after trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico and apply for a work visa in March.
More on travel:
United Airlines places big bet on new flights to trendy destinationGovernment issues new travel advisory on popular beach destinationAnother country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
“Just canceled our March trip to Great Wolf Lodge [a chain of water park resorts in states such as Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Virginia] and will be going to West Edmonton Mall instead,” Monique Neufeld wrote on the social media platform Threads (META) in a post that received nearly 17,000 upvotes in February 2025. “Keeping our money in Canada!”
The official travel rating that Canada has assigned to the U.S. for decades remains at level one’s “take normal precautions.”
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
