Decline in Canadian travel over tariff dispute a 'significant concern' to Detroit tourism [View all]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 7:51 AM, Mar 29, 2025


With tension brewing between the U.S. and Canada as a new set of tariffs is set to take effect, some Canadians say they’re boycotting their trips to the U.S., vowing to use their wallets as a means to make their voices heard. Both the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel saw a noticeable decline in travelers last month, and some local businesses in Detroit also are noticing a decline in Canadian customers.

On any given Red Wings game day, downtown Detroit gets packed with hockey fans. Many of those fans are often from Canada, especially when the visiting team is Canadian. “I like to come to Detroit to watch the Canadian teams play, nice and close,” said Ottawa Senators fan Blake Howard, who drove in for the game from Sarnia, Ontario.

Before the Ottawa Senators took on the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night, Senators fan Andrew Johnston sported a “Canada is not for sale” hat. Johnston is originally from Ottawa but now lives in Michigan. His hat was his way of making a clear statement about the current political tension between the two countries. “It's just a little pushback saying we’re not OK with this kind of rhetoric, the 51st state stuff,” Johnston said.

At the same time, many Canadians have been pushing back against new tariffs by canceling trips to the United States, urging Canadians to keep their money in Canada.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/world/canada/decline-in-canadian-travel-over-tariff-dispute-a-significant-concern-to-detroit-tourism

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Will have to see how much of an issue there will be with both the hockey (Canada has a bunch of teams in the NHL - Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens) and baseball (Toronto Blue Jays), with going back and forth across the border.

I know during my very first trip to Detroit for work stuff in the '90s, a bunch of us went through the tunnel to go to a restaurant over in Windsor, ON for dinner. No matter what border crossing to Canada that I have been through, they were always busy.