The number of Canadians heading to Glacier National Park is in decline, possibly due to President Trump's actions/Rebecca Latson file

President Trump’s latest boost in tariffs, on top of his rhetoric about annexing Canada whole, weren’t oriented to winning best buddies north of the border. But by the time the latest tariff salvo arrived, Canadians already were slowing their enthusiasm for visiting their southern neighbor, with impacts felt in some national parks and their gateway communities.  

“Canadian visitation is down and cancellations from Canada are up,” said Mike Knetemann, director of Digital Marketing at Yellowstone National Park Lodges, an arm of Xanterra Travel Collections. One of the park system’s largest concessionaires, Xanterra has lodgings and shops in Grand Canyon, Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone national parks and at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Xanterra began to notice cancellations in early February.

“It’s impossible to know the exact reasons reservations are being canceled, but reports we are seeing indicate that Canadians are pulling back for a variety of reasons, from an unfavorable currency exchange rate to long waits for visas, among other factors,” said Knetemann in an email.

According to statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, overall travel by Canadians to the United States was down in March, as 8.9 million people crossed the border from Canada into the U.S. compared to 9.4 million in 2024. 

Tabulations by Statistics Canada reflected an even bigger decline, a 13.5 percent drop this March in the number of Canadians flying home from the U.S. compared to last March, and a nearly 32 percent decline in Canadians driving home in March compared to 2024. Statistics Canada doesn't report Canadians traveling to the U.S.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, “a 10 percent reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses.”

In Whitefish, Montana, near Glacier National Park, spending by Canadian tourists is down more than 14 percent compared to the same period last year, said Julie Mullins, executive director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Center.

Using data provided by Visa Destinations Insights, Mullins calculated that expenditures from Canadians dropped from $684,413 in February 2024 to $553,470 in February this year. There were 3,293 Visa credit card transactions in 2024 compared to 2,645 this past February.

“We’re definitely seeing rather significant losses,” said Mullins. 

Canadian reservations with the Xanterra Travel Collection, which manages lodges in Yellowstone National Park and other park destinations, are down this year/Rebecca Latson file

Apparently, Canadian consumers have scant interest in even hearing about travel opportunities across their southern border. A travel writer who frequently covers stories about U.S. national parks for Canadian publications said many Canadian newspapers, magazines and online publications have put a pause on accepting travel stories about American destinations.

Editors who previously have welcomed U.S.-themed content cite anger in Canada against Trump’s comments about turning their country into the “51^st state” and policies regarding their country, which has translated into a notable drop in desire to visit or read about U.S. destinations, the writer told the Traveler.

Many Canadians also are nervous about crossing the border amid his immigration crackdown. And the strength of the U.S. dollar against Canada’s may play a role.

Given that travelers have many destination choices, “antipathy towards a country’s leadership can have appreciable effects,” said Geena Bevenour, marketing manager for Tourism Economics. “This is on top of the negative economic consequences of tariffs,” she added, mentioning the prospect of higher prices and falling consumer and business confidence.

“It’s unclear whether people are actually reacting to what’s going on politically or it’s simply that the dollar’s strong,” making it more expensive for them to travel in the U.S., said Lucy Beighle, director of communications with Western Montana’s Glacier Country, an organization handling marketing for eight counties and Glacier National Park in Montana.

A report in February from Tourism Economics, An Oxford Economics Company, projected that an expanded trade war would mean a $22 billion loss for this year in tourism-related declines in international travel and spending. Secretary of State Marco Rubio likely did not help matters when he wrote in an op-ed piece that "[V]isiting America is not an entitlement. It is a privilege extended to those who respect our laws and values."

Some U.S. park communities so far see no significant drop-off.

“Our lodge reservations are about the same as normal,” said Jack O’Donnell, director of marketing for the Le Conte Lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a small inn where guests must hike in five miles to access a 3-bedroom cabin for 13 people at $1,533 per night.

And there was some evidence that Europeans still were heading to U.S. national park regions, ahead of Trump’s dramatic tariffs announcement on April 2 roiled much of the world.  

In Acadia National Park’s gateway community of Bar Harbor, Maine, the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, Everal Eaton, said it’s still early in the season to draw conclusions, but he noted a slight elevation in European reservations at the gateway town's lodgings he tracks, along with one or two cancellations by Canadians.

European reservations were running at fairly normal rate at Yellowstone National Park in the weeks before Trump lowered the latest tariff boom, according to Todd Walton, director of marketing and sales at Yellowstone National Park Lodges. He added, “We see a trend in slightly later bookings for the spring and summer.”

Rooms were still available in mid-March for the park’s lodges and hotels for Fourth of July weekend.

Xanterra-managed lodges at the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park, had July 4 weekend reservations available. So did the north rim’s Grand Canyon Lodge run by North Rim Hospitality, a subsidiary of Aramark.  Aramark did not respond to the Traveler’s questions inquiring about bookings this year by Canadians and Europeans.

Combine the decline of international tourism with the possibility of a recession surfacing in the United States and national park destinations could see a weak summer season.