Calgary
By CityNews Staff
Posted Feb 14, 2025 10:48 am.
Last Updated Feb 14, 2025 6:34 pm.
Fewer Canadians are travelling to the U.S.A. these days, according to the country’s largest airlines, thanks to a low exchange rate and rising tensions between North American countries.
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech is reporting a 25 per cent drop in Canadians booking trips to the United States over the past week.
“Sales from Canadians into the U.S. have dropped very significantly,” he said at a press conference Thursday. “If we feel we need to adjust our schedule, we will. But if people continue to fly to the U.S., we will continue supporting them.”
Air Canada acknowledged Friday it is coping with uncertainty from the current economic environment and said it may reduce flights to certain U.S. destinations later this year if demand for travel starts to lag.
Travellers at YYC International Airport who spoke with CityNews say they’ve decided to keep their spending at home.
“I feel like they’re ruining our economy. So I don’t want to support them, so I’ll stay here or go to the UK,” one woman said.
“I would rather spend my money and my time in my own country,” said another.
Fewer travellers to the States could mean bad news for the American economy.
The U.S. Travel Association says there were over 20 million visit to the country by Canadians last year, generating over $20 billion in spending, and supporting over 140,000 jobs.
The relationship between the two countries has continued to sour over the last week, with Canadians still booing The Star Spangled Banner at sporting events following U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs.
Research from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released this week says Calgary is among the cities that would be hardest hit by U.S. tariffs, alongside Saint John, N.B. and Windsor, Ont.
Calgary is considered the second most-vulnerable because it exports crude oil and natural gas to the United States. Beef is also one of the major export that would be exposed in the trade war, according to the Chamber.
-With files from The Canadian Press, Logan Stein, and Rayn Rashid
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