B.C. drivers are continuing to travel far less frequently to Washington state through border crossings near Vancouver than they did one year ago.
Data from the Cascade Gateway Border Data Warehouse show a 46.7-per-cent plunge in the number of southbound crossings at the Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas points of entry in May: to 113,997 such crossings from 213,714 in the same month in 2024.
This is a continuation of a downward trend in travel that started in February, when U.S. President Donald Trump first planned to levy tariffs on Canadian imports for what he said was a porous border that allowed migrants and fentanyl to cross into his country. He put in place a 30-day pause on Feb. 3 of what was set to be a 25-per-cent tariff on all Canadian imports, except energy, which would have a 10-per-cent tariff.
Many changes to tariff timing and levels followed. Trump today issued a proclamation doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, including Canada.
Trump all year has mused about Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state.
"If Washington D.C. keeps up the rhetoric and stuff, I think it's going to be four years and a complete change of administration before most Canadians are going to want to come down here," Blaine-based immigration lawyer Len Saunders told BIV this afternoon.
Saunders said he returned from dinner in Canada last night and there was one Nexus line open as well as one other lane.
"Only one other lane was open," he stressed. "They are hardly staffing the border."
Indeed, the widespread sentiment in Canada is that U.S. tariffs are unjustified, and this has unleashed a wave of nationalistic fervour, with many Canadians vowing to stay home and staycation, or travel elsewhere instead of visiting the U.S. Airlines are adjusting schedules.
Brisk start to year for cross-border visits turns sour in February
The year started well for U.S. businesses near the Canadian border. There were 10.2-per-cent more drivers with B.C. licence plates visiting the U.S. in January through the four closest border crossings to Vancouver compared with the same month in 2024.
This would, however, be the last month for which there would be a year-over-year gain in traffic volume.
In February, 120,788 vehicles with B.C. plates crossed into Washington state through the four closest border crossings to Vancouver, down 28.6 per cent from the 169,168 such vehicles in the same month one year earlier. That was a significant drop that may have only slightly been exacerbated by February 2025 having one fewer day than February 2024.
U.S. border guards started to be more strict with Canadian day-trippers than they had been previously, Saunders said.
So were Canadian border inspectors, as some people had to itemize their groceries and pay duties on them.
This all helped the trend of Canadians avoiding U.S. trips pick up steam in March, when 123,592 vehicles with B.C. plates crossed into Washington State through the four closest border crossings to Vancouver. That was down 42.9 per cent from the 216,284 such vehicles in the same month one year earlier.
The waning desire to travel south ramped up even more in April. In that month, 98,576 vehicles with B.C. plates crossed into Washington State through the four closest border crossings to Vancouver, down 50.8 per cent from the 200,853 such vehicles that made those trips in April 2024.
U.S. border guards in early May significantly increased their number of extensive searches of vehicles headed out of the country, Saunders said.
He said that there were two-hour line-ups on many days because border officials were spending about five minutes searching each vehicle headed north. The rationale for this may have been that the longtime area port director was transferred to Buffalo, New York, and a new one was transferred in, Saunders said.
"Everyone just expected they would promote someone from within, but they brought in a lady from the southern border who just didn't understand how things work here," Saunders said.
He believes that the area port director now understands that her order to have more extensive searches of vehicles leaving the U.S. was "a little too aggressive."
