Canadian Deputy Mayor Blames Trump Rhetoric for $4.5 Billion Drop in U.S. Tourism

A Canadian municipal leader says political rhetoric from President Donald Trump’s administration is driving Canadians away from the United States — and costing the American economy billions in lost tourism revenue.

Greg Grimes, deputy mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, says he has not crossed the border into the U.S. in 18 months and has no plans to do so anytime soon. For years, he and his family frequently traveled south for dinners, shopping trips and visits with friends. That routine, he says, ended as political tensions escalated.

His personal boycott reflects what some analysts describe as a broader shift in Canadian travel patterns.

A February report in Forbes, citing data from the U.S. Travel Association and the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Travel and Tourism Office, estimated that declining Canadian tourism could cost the American economy roughly $4.5 billion.

Canada has long been the United States’ largest source of international visitors, particularly benefiting border states where short trips for shopping, dining and entertainment are common.

A Strain Across the Border

Grimes said he was particularly troubled by comments made by Port Huron, Michigan, City Manager James Freed, who suggested that currency exchange rates — not politics — were the main reason fewer Canadians were visiting.

Grimes described the remarks as dismissive.

“I found them very dismissive, that our concerns aren’t valid,” he said, arguing that the decline in cross-border activity cannot be explained by economics alone.

At the heart of the tension, Grimes says, is what he calls “51st state rhetoric” — language suggesting Canada should become part of the United States — along with disputes surrounding high-profile infrastructure projects such as the Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Windsor and Detroit.

“That’s where it hurts me and all Canadians,” he said.

Grimes also cited concerns among some Canadians about heightened border scrutiny, including fears of device searches or detention by U.S. immigration authorities. While such incidents are not widespread, he said the perception of risk has changed the calculus for many would-be travelers.

“There’s that fear of the unknown. We’ve lost that trusted traveler friendship,” he said.

Economic Consequences

According to figures cited by Fortune, Canadian visitors generated approximately 20.4 million trips to the United States in 2024, spending about $20.5 billion and supporting an estimated 140,000 American jobs.

A significant pullback in 2025 would disproportionately affect border communities that rely heavily on Canadians driving across for retail purchases, restaurants, casinos and short hotel stays.

From Michigan and New York to Washington state, local economies are deeply intertwined with Canadian consumer spending. Even modest declines in traffic can ripple quickly through small businesses operating on thin margins.

Grimes outlined his concerns in a letter to Freed, expressing disappointment at what he described as an overly narrow focus on exchange rates.

He wrote that “recent actions and rhetoric at the federal level have had on the historically strong relationship between Canadians and Americans, particularly within our border communities,” and warned that attributing falling travel primarily to economic conditions overlooks a deeper erosion of trust.

Canadians, he said, increasingly feel “unsettled,” citing what he views as a breakdown in respect and partnership between the two nations.

Freed responded briefly, thanking Grimes for his feedback and expressing hope he would visit again soon. Grimes interpreted the reply as further evidence that Canadian concerns are not being taken seriously.

“It just perpetuates that sort of, ‘Whatever, Canadians,’” he said. “We’re reaching out, but we’re not feeling it back. It’s a shame.”

Politics or Pocketbooks?

Exchange rates have historically played a powerful role in cross-border travel decisions. When the Canadian dollar weakens against the U.S. dollar, American goods and services become more expensive for Canadian shoppers.

But Grimes insists the shift is not purely financial.

The broader political climate, he argues, has altered how many Canadians feel when traveling south — a subtle but meaningful change in a relationship that for decades has been characterized by relative ease and familiarity.

Rebuilding that trust, he suggested, will take more than favorable currency swings.

It will require, he said, deliberate efforts to restore the sense of mutual respect that once made crossing the world’s longest undefended border feel almost routine.

For communities on both sides, the stakes are not only diplomatic but economic — measured not just in sentiment, but in billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.