Fewer Albertans travelled to and from the U.S. since January: data, experts suggest

Fewer Albertans are travelling to and from the United States this year, Statistics Canada data shows, aligning with a trend that is becoming prevalent across Canada.

Statistics Canada data shows a decline in Canadians returning to the country from the U.S. at Alberta border crossings in the last two months. In February, nearly 4,000 fewer Canadians returned to the country through Alberta border crossings than during the same month in 2024. In March, more than 4,300 fewer Canadians made the same return trip across the border year-over-year.

When compared with the first three months of 2024, Canadians returning from the U.S. by air to airports in either Calgary or Edmonton in the first three months of 2025 saw similar declines.

Racine Friede, the president and CEO of Western Montana's Glacier Country, says her regional tourism organization is starting to see a dip in the number of Albertans visiting the northwestern part of the state.

"We have some businesses that are saying they haven't seen much of a change, while we are hearing from others that they're seeing anywhere from 20 to 30 or 40 per cent of a decrease in bookings from their Canadian clients and customers," she said.

Friede says her organization focuses on attracting tourists to Montana, as well as maintaining the relationship between her state and Canadian provinces. 

"We just have a special bond with Alberta and British Columbians," she said.

"We've certainly been hearing stories about people that have family here and they might be coming down less. The family from here might be going [to Alberta] a little bit more than normal."

WATCH | Canadian travel to U.S. drops by nearly 900,000 in March: 

Canadian travel to U.S. drops by nearly 900,000 in March

6 days ago

Duration 2:02

U.S. border data shows that nearly 900,000 fewer people travelled from Canada to the U.S. in March, traditionally a busy month for cross-border travel. The drop has pushed the governor of California to lobby for Canadians to come back to his state.

Friede says her organization is about to launch a summer advertising campaign to attract more Albertans — and Canadians overall — to visit Montana, in light of the recent decline in travel.

"We're all like-minded when it comes to our thoughts and feelings about just making sure people know that we miss them, that we're here when they are ready to come or when they feel more comfortable coming," she said.

"Canadians are not just a market to us. They are friends and they are neighbours, and that's how we view them."

Industry feeling the pinch

Canadians' changing travel habits comes amid political and economic tensions between their country and the U.S., that have arisen during an ongoing trade war.

Sarah Halprin, travel agent with The Travel Agent Next Door, says she hasn't seen Canadians hesitate to travel this much since major public health restrictions were imposed around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's not feasible for people, whether it is a political statement, a personal statement or a financial statement," she said.

Halprin adds that the number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. was already trending downward in the past few years because of the wavering strength of the Canadian dollar.

"It's not just a simple answer of, 'oh, if the tariffs weren't happening, we would be fine.' We wouldn't. We've got this horrible dollar," Halprin said.

Financial factors like the weaker Canadian dollar, compounded with current economic tensions between Canada and the U.S., will only make things worse, Halprin predicts. She believes more people may opt for saving money rather than spending it in the U.S.

"With the tariffs coming in, they don't know if they're going to be paying rent in two months or affording that medication for their child or whatever it is," she said.

The people who are still travelling to the States are usually doing so out of necessity, Halprin says, noting that some Canadians own property south of the border and some have relatives that live there.

Halprin says usually around this time of year her business, which focuses on sun destinations, is booming. But for the past three months, things have been quiet, so she's shifting her focus toward travel within Canada.

"The issue with that is that it's expensive to travel within Canada," Halprin said. "When you can travel to Manitoba for x amount of dollars, you can fly to Hawaii for the same price, even though we should be travelling more in Canada."