Canadians cancel U.S. travel plans amid anger over tariffs, weak loonie

Airlines and travel companies have seen bookings to the United States plummet as Canadians rethink their plans amid anger over the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as a weak loonie. Travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Canada says leisure bookings to American cities dropped 40% in February from the same month in 2024. One in five customers cancelled their trips to the U.S. over the past three months. Now that sweeping tariffs on most goods headed to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico are in place, travellers show no signs of reversing that trend."We're making those choices to travel to destinations that really align more with our values," said Flight Centre spokeswoman Amra Durakovic. Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10% to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season. WestJet said in an email there has been a shift in bookings from the U.S. to other sun destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean. The number of U.S.-bound flights from budget carrier Flair Airlines is down 24% year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Air Transat flight figures fell 12%, while Sunwing Airlines scrapped all its U.S. flights. Canadians’ sudden aversion to their southern neighbour marks a backlash to the crippling tariffs against Canadian goods — dangled as a threat since Trump's first day in office, and put into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday — said Martin Firestone, president of Toronto-based insurance firm Travel Secure Inc. He stressed the sense of betrayal by a country Canada considered its closest ally.<br/>