As travel numbers between Canada and the United States have ebbed multiple times over the last 18 months, the Trump administration’s antagonistic politics toward its northern neighbor have led to a noticeable and continued decline in the number of Canadians who fly into American cities.
According to the latest monthly numbers from the Canadian government’s statistics agency, the number of Canadian trips to the U.S. was down by 29% compared to two years ago in September 2024, Forbes reported.
Despite a small 7% bump from last year, the number of trips is still down from 2024 levels by 31% for car border crossings and 19% for air travel.
These travel numbers have significantly influenced how airlines plan their schedules for the coming year.
By the end of October, national airline Air Canada will phase out its routes from Montréal to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International (MSP) and Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), as well as from Toronto to Indianapolis International (IND).
WestJet cuts flights from Canada to Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago
WestJet, which is Air Canada’s main competitor and the second-largest airline in the country by passengers carried, has also cut 10 flights to the U.S. from several Canadian hubs.
As first reported by aviation website Simple Flying, Edmonton International Airport (YEG) in the west of the country has taken the biggest brunt of the cuts, with axed flights to Nashville International Airport (BNA), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
Flights to these cities were periodically phased out throughout 2026, with the final Edmonton-Chicago route running until the end of October.
Related: Air Canada exits entire market
WestJet’s Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer John Weatherill had previously presented flight cuts as “difficult decisions” that need to be made so the airline remains economically viable for the future.
The cancellation of routes out of Edmonton is in line with airlines’ wider strategy of shelving flights from smaller regional cities to prioritize routes from major hubs, through which travelers from other places can transfer.
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WestJet also axed flights to Nashville and Boston from Vancouver
This year, WestJet has also suspended service to Nashville, Boston Logan International (BOS), Nashville, and Lihue Airport (LIH) in Hawaii from Vancouver International (YVR), as well as a route between Winnipeg International (YWG) and Nashville.
As part of its network shake-up, WestJet has also added new international destinations such as Merida in Mexico and São Paulo in Brazil from Calgary, along with Belize City from Calgary.
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The move is part of the airline’s efforts to pivot away from destinations seeing lower demand — throughout 2025 and 2026, this has meant the United States — and toward places where Canadians are increasingly looking to travel.
“We saw a notable decline in transborder travel demand throughout 2025,” Julia Kaiser, WestJet’s media relations adviser, has previously said of the cuts.
“As a result, we made timely decisions to modify our network to stay aligned with where Canadians want to go.”
