Manitoba travel to U.S. takes hit amid Trump's tariff war

Josh Crabb · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 3:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The province's tourism manufacture wants to capitalize connected a diminution successful the fig of Manitobans and Canadians travelling to the U.S. amid Donald Trump's commercialized war.

New numbers amusement less travellers drove done onshore borderline crossings successful February compared to the aforesaid period past year.

"Typically we spell to Detroit Lakes [Minnesota] astir apt erstwhile a year," said Rudy Giesbrecht, a Manitoban who's decided to shingle up his question plans. "There's a spot down determination that we really, truly similar to spell to, but no, we're not going this year."

Giesbrecht and his wife, Cheryl, said they're cancelling their yearly abrogation due to the fact that of the tariffs imposed by the U.S. president and his views connected Canada.

"For now, we conscionable truly don't privation to beryllium down there," Cheryl said pursuing a luncheon outing with friends astatine The Forks successful Winnipeg. "It's disappointing, but I deliberation we conscionable request to instrumentality a basal and accidental that we conscionable don't hold with the mode he's treating america arsenic a country." 

There was an 18 per cent alteration successful February compared to the aforesaid period past twelvemonth successful the fig of travellers driving from Canada into North Dakota and Minnesota, according to information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

The numbers amusement 116,685 travellers crossed the onshore borderline by conveyance successful 2025, down from 142,870 radical successful 2024.

Right crossed the country, astir 348,000 less Canadians returned from the U.S. by vehicle, with the fig of travellers dropping from much than 1.5 cardinal radical successful February 2024 to implicit 1.1 cardinal past month, according to Statistics Canada.

That's nary astonishment to Joanne Vanderhorst, a Winnipegger putting a roadworthy travel successful a camper van on the U.S. westbound coast on hold.

"I don't deliberation my hubby oregon I are comfy with the thought of travelling southbound astatine this constituent successful time," Vanderhorst said. 

She said it's due to the fact that of the strained narration betwixt Canada and the U.S.  

"We are not blessed with the tariffs being imposed connected us. I deliberation we conscionable person to beryllium Canadian, we person to enactment Canadian and we person to question Canadian."

The fig of Canadians returning from the U.S. to Manitoba by conveyance besides went down by 20 per cent, according to Stats Canada.

There were 37,727 Canadians who crossed backmost into the state past month, down from 48,084 returning to Manitoba successful February 2024.

Uptick successful staycations expected

With question southbound of the borderline connected the decline, the caput of the province's tourism enactment sees an accidental to boost question numbers. 

Colin Ferguson, president and CEO of Travel Manitoba, said the tourism manufacture is trying to amusement Manitobans — and Canadians — there's plentifulness to explore, particularly arsenic outpouring interruption approaches.

"Their question plans person changed, truthful they're looking for different locations," Ferguson said. "So we spot that determination could beryllium a spot of an uptake." 

People started travelling locally more during the COVID-19 pandemic and the inclination has continued, helium said.

"They're going to Clear Lake, they're going to Falcon Lake, they're going to Riding Mountain National Park, they're going to Hecla, they're going to each of these places … oregon they're going to a edifice that has an indoor excavation and the kids are having a ball," Ferguson said. 

"Little abbreviated staycations are inactive happening," helium said.

Travel Manitoba's absorption volition stay connected moving Manitobans wrong the province, attracting much Canadians and continuing to effort to person Americans to question northbound of the border.

"So far, we're inactive seeing beauteous beardown numbers coming retired of the States," Ferguson said.

The fig of U.S. residents visiting Manitoba dropped lone somewhat successful February, down to 12,597 radical from 12,741 travellers during the aforesaid period past year.

"Americans thin to travel for fishing," Ferguson said. "They besides travel for Churchill, whether they're coming up to spot polar bears successful the chaotic oregon beluga whales.… These are bucket-list opportunities."

Exploring Manitoba instead

Vanderhorst said she and her hubby are already moving connected their backup plans.

"We're really talking astir exploring tons of areas of Manitoba that we haven't truly done," she said. 

The Giesbrechts said they'd alternatively not person to cancel their question plans due to the fact that they don't privation to wounded idiosyncratic concern owners successful the U.S., but they consciousness their "token gesture" is indispensable and needed astatine this time.

"We consciousness atrocious we can't enactment them," Rudy said. "Maybe if there's capable of america that bash that benignant of thing, possibly the businesses down determination volition enactment unit connected their [members of Congress], volition enactment unit connected Trump, and hopefully possibly thing volition alteration that way."

Cheryl said until then, they program to support immoderate question person to home.

"We'll find worldly to do," she said. "We'll enactment local."