As the weather warms, many Canadians are turning their attention to travel plans. Whether for spring break or planning summer holidays abroad, people are ready to be on the move after a long winter.

However, temperatures are not the only thing heating up — political tensions between Canada and the United States continue to escalate amid United States President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs. Trump has paused some taxes on Canadian imports until early April.

Trade wars impact the price of goods on both sides of the border and threaten employment and investor confidence. Beyond this, the political situation is also affecting travel intentions and behaviours, not only in Canada and the U.S., but globally.

Although travel is not directly affected by the American tariffs — such as visa or ESTA fees for Canadians visiting the U.S. — Canadians are reacting strongly to the tariffs and Trump’s threats to make the country the 51st U.S. state.

Emerging data from Statistics Canada indicates that visits to the U.S. began to decline as early as January, and airlines reported that reservations were down. Leisure travel reservations are also significantly down. All this suggests that Canadians are cancelling trips to the U.S.

A new American policy could also affect Canadian travel to the U.S.: as of March 9, some Canadians staying in the U.S. for more than 30 days

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