U.S. visitors to Manitoba up in 1st quarter of 2025, bucking national trend: StatsCan

Cameron MacLean · CBC

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 8:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

While the fig of radical visiting Canada from the U.S. declined earlier this year, Manitoba whitethorn beryllium bucking that trend.

According to Statistics Canada, successful March, the fig of U.S. trips to Canada by automobile was down by 10.6 per cent from the aforesaid period successful 2024.

Winnipeg is "not immune to planetary shifts," representatives of Economic Development Winnipeg told the city's concern committee last week.

But caller information from Statistics Canada shows that onshore borderline crossings into Manitoba accrued by 7.6 per cent during the archetypal 4th of 2025, compared to the January to March play past year.

"Though nationally we're seeing a diminution — I would accidental a unchangeable diminution — successful U.S. visitation, successful Manitoba we're not seeing the aforesaid impact, based connected the astir caller Statistics Canada data, by onshore crossing and besides by air," Natalie Thiesen, vice-president of tourism with Economic Development Winnipeg, said successful an interrogation Wednesday. 

Arrivals by aerial successful Manitoba accrued adjacent much during the aforesaid play — by astir 60 per cent, Thiesen said.

That whitethorn beryllium owed partially to accrued capableness from caller flights coming online wrong the past year.

The bureau has heard concerns from immoderate Americans who disquieted they won't beryllium invited if they travel here, Thiesen said.

Economic Development Winnipeg commissioned a canvass by Probe Research, conducted from March 4 to 16, that suggests a beardown bulk of the 600 respondents said Manitobans should inactive warmly invited Americans, Thiesen said.

"So that's telling [about] our affable Manitoba quality and Winnipeggers' willingness to invited Americans to our jurisdiction, and they're an important portion of concern to our visitant economy," said Thiesen.

The caput of the Manitoba Hotel Association says determination are a fig of large events planned this year, expected to gully ample numbers of tourists.

"So [we're] beauteous optimistic for the twelvemonth ahead. And yeah, we truly haven't heard overmuch oregon thing of ample changes successful U.S. request successful Winnipeg oregon Manitoba truthful far," said president and CEO Michael Juce.

Tourism is simply a $1-billion manufacture successful Winnipeg, and cross-border question represents astir 25 per cent of visitant expenditures successful the city, said concern committee seat Coun. Jeff Browaty.

Many Canadians are besides looking astatine question options wrong Canada alternatively than going to the U.S., and Winnipeg is attempting to seizure immoderate of that involvement done a caller tourism run touting the province's presumption arsenic Canada's "middle child."

Browaty said helium believes the favourable speech complaint for the U.S. dollar successful Canada whitethorn besides service arsenic an enticement for American shoppers. 

"The idiosyncratic relationships that beryllium betwixt Canadians and Americans, I deliberation volition persevere, adjacent though they're decidedly suffering astatine the moment," helium said.