Canada’s U.S. travel boycott just hit a new low as Flight Centre Canada, an Australian travel agency founded in 1982, reported a 40% year-over-year drop in Canadian tourists traveling to the U.S.
The boycott began in early 2025, after President Trump’s remarks about Canada becoming a possible 51st U.S. state and the following trade war. Yet there’s another, often-overlooked reason Canadians aren’t traveling to the U.S. this year.
In recent years, the Canadian dollar has been weak compared to the U.S. dollar, leading several Canadians to opt for cheaper holiday destinations.
Here is a closer look at the number of Canadians avoiding the U.S. for this reason and where they are heading instead.
Canadians Are Avoiding The U.S. For Financial Reasons
According to Anita Emilio, general manager of Flight Centre Canada, Canadians are now choosing to travel to destinations where “their Canadian dollar does stretch a bit further.” This includes destinations such as Japan and Australia.
According to data by the Bank of Canada, as of Friday, December 19, a Canadian dollar was equal to 114.29 Japanese yen and 1.10 Australian dollars.
“We’ve seen an incredible increase to somewhere like Japan where their Canadian dollar does stretch a bit further (…) Places like Australia as well. It’s quite a flight to get there, but the Canadian dollar is stronger than the Australian dollar, so Canadians feel once they get there, they can really stretch their dollar,” Anita Emilio said to CTV News.
The Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada’s (THIA) 2025 Winter Smart Traveller Survey reported a similar trend. According to it, about 41% of Canadians said they would avoid traveling to the U.S. due to rising travel costs.
In this regard, the Trump Administration recently introduced new fees for foreign tourists visiting U.S. national parks, increasing the cost of the Annual Pass from $80 to $250 for nonresidents and charging an extra $100 per person to enter 11 of the most popular national parks in the country.
In addition, the THIA survey showed that approximately 19% of Canadians cited the poor exchange rate as their main reason for avoiding U.S. travel. So, where are Canadians heading to?
Where Are Canadians Traveling To?
According to G Adventures, a Toronto-based company specializing in small-group adventure travel, the top destinations for 2026 are Peru, Morocco, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Japan.
Flight Centre published a list of top spots, showing an increase in interest from Canadian tourists compared to 2024:
- Turks and Caicos: +350%
- Saint Lucia: +116%
- Japan: +88%
- Colombia: +75%
- Switzerland: +64%
- Barbados: +61%
- Vietnam: +56%
- Curaçao: +53%
- Germany: +43%
- Australia: +32%
Some of these destinations, such as Japan, Colombia, Vietnam, and Australia, seem to confirm the theory that Canadians are indeed choosing destinations where their currency can stretch further. However, this is not always the case.
Tropical islands such as the Turks and Caicos Islands and Saint Lucia are considered luxury destinations and can be quite expensive.
European destinations are also still popular among Canadians. Among these is Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries in Europe.
According to the Bank of Canada, as of Friday, December 19, a Canadian dollar was equal to 0.58 Swiss franc, significantly less than the U.S. dollar, whose value in Canadian dollars on the same day was $0.73.
While financial reasons are a strong factor leading Canadians to choose cheaper holiday destinations, they are not the only ones.
“Political Tension” Remains A Strong Factor Impacting Canada’s U.S. Travel Boycott
The THIA report showed that political tension remains a key factor in Canadians’ decision to continue boycotting the U.S.
About 40% of Canadians reported that this is the main reason they decided to avoid U.S. travel. This is only 1% less than the percentage of Canadians who mentioned the rising costs of traveling to this country.
A growing number of Canadians are now being detained by U.S. authorities, with newly released statistics reporting a significant increase. Data shows 434 Canadian detention stays from September 2023 to mid-October 2025, including one case where a child was held for 51 days.
While the weaker Canadian dollar remains a key reason Canadians are avoiding travel to the U.S., it’s important to note that U.S. politics still plays a significant role in the boycott.
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