What’s happened.

Statistics Canada’s September 2026 figures show Canadian trips to the United States down 29% against September 2024, made up of a 31% drop in car crossings and a 19% drop in flights, as reported by TheStreet via Yahoo Finance. That followed a modest summer bounce, but the level of cross-border travel remains the lowest in decades, which the report attributes to US tariffs on Canadian goods and President Trump’s repeated comments about making Canada a 51st state.

Airlines have responded by taking out the routes that no longer fill. Air Canada will not fly Toronto–Charleston in summer 2027, ending its only service into South Carolina; the route carried 200 departures and 15,200 seats from Toronto in 2024, then fell to 92 departures and 6,992 seats in 2025. The airline was already phasing out Montreal–Minneapolis, Montreal–Detroit and Toronto–Indianapolis by the end of October. An Air Canada spokesperson said the network follows where customers actually buy tickets. Calgary-based WestJet has cut flights to Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta and Seattle from Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver through 2026, while adding Belize City, Merida and São Paulo. Separately, Canada recorded 5.3 million international arrivals in September 2026.

Two things follow for anyone selling rooms, lift tickets or tours. Fewer flights between Canadian and smaller American cities means fewer easy connections for the US leisure guest who used to arrive without planning. And millions of Canadian trips that would have gone south are now looking for somewhere else to go.

What it means for your business.

If you run a hotel, resort, attraction or tour company that has budgeted 2027 spending against an American guest mix, check which US cities your visitors actually fly from before you book media. Where the route has gone, the casual US booking goes with it, and the money is better spent on Canadian drive and short-haul markets and on the overseas visitors still arriving. Reset the split in your 2027 plan this quarter, and build offers aimed at Canadians who have decided not to travel to the States.

Next step: Before you commit 2027 media money, map your US visitors to specific routes and move spend off any city that has lost its direct flight.

Explore this opportunity for your business

Sources & context.

Reported developments are separated from MKTGSpace’s suggested commercial next steps. Reconfirm current conditions before acting.

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