New JEC Report Shows Impact of Tourism Declines on Businesses in Every Canadian Border State
WASHINGTON – The Joint Economic Committee – Minority released a new report today showing the ways in which declining Canadian tourism is harming American businesses in every state along the U.S.-Canada border. The decline in tourism comes as President Trump has proposed annexing Canada, imposed several rounds of tariffs paid by Americans on Canadian goods, and repeatedly broken off trade talks. The report combines new data on tourism declines with new testimonials from businesses in states across the U.S.-Canada border.
“Going back for generations, Canadians have visited New Hampshire and many other states along the U.S.-Canada border to see family or friends, stay in our hotels, share a meal at our restaurants, and shop at our stores,” said U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee. “However, in the wake of President Trump’s reckless tariffs and needless provocations, fewer and fewer Canadians are making trips to the United States, putting many American businesses in jeopardy and straining the close ties that bind our two nations.”
From January to October 2025, the Joint Economic Committee – Minority found that the number of passenger vehicles crossing the U.S.-Canada border declined by nearly 20 percent compared to the same time period in 2024, with some states seeing declines as large as 27 percent. American businesses in states along the border are also reporting fewer tourists, more hotel vacancies, and lower sales.
Read the full report here, or key quotes from some of the businesses featured in the report below:
“These are more than numbers; they represent missed revenue for local businesses, reduced hotel demand, and fewer dollars supporting jobs and investment in our community,” said Shirley Hughes, president and CEO of Visit Fargo-Moorhead in Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN.
“Being only eight miles from the border, normally Canadians make up anywhere from 15-25 percent of visitors. Now, I can probably count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand. I’m just trying to plug along and keep my nose above the waterline,” said Elizabeth Guerin, owner of Fiddleheads in Colebrook, NH.
“The drop in visits from Canadian tourists has had a noticeable impact on our bottom line. With Canadians making up about 10% of our business, fewer cross-border travelers mean fewer tastings, tours, and wine sales — a ripple effect that touches our entire operation, underscoring how important cross-border tourism is to our business model,” said Scott Osborn, president and co-owner of Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, NY.
“This is long-lasting damage to a relationship and emotional damage takes time to heal. While people aren’t visiting Vermont, they’ll be finding new places to visit, making new memories, building new family traditions, and we will not recapture all of that,” said Christa Bowdish, owner of the Old Stagecoach Inn in Waterbury, VT.
“Since March of this year, we have not only seen Canadian traffic drop drastically, but we have also seen a drop in our number of attendees at our festival this year in late September. We knew that after March, we could not rely on our Canadian business because of fear at the border and lack of understanding of what is happening with tariffs and Canada drawing a strong line of promoting Canada first,” said Kevin Coleman, executive director of SeaFeast in Bellingham, WA.
“We spoke with Canadian customers who told us point-blank that they were hesitant to cross due to the current political tension. The joy of the ‘shopping day trip’ has been replaced by anxiety over border enforcement and tariffs. Additionally, we are situated on the primary corridor for families traveling from Quebec to the Maine coast, and the usual parade of vacationers heading to Old Orchard Beach simply didn't show up this year. When our neighbors stay away, our margins disappear and in groceries those margins are vanishingly small to begin with. The friction at the border is no longer just a headline; it is an empty parking lot and a threat to our livelihood. We are all eager to see normality and civility restored in our long productive relationship with our neighbors to the north,” said Kyle Daley, owner of Soloman's Store in West Stewartstown, NH.
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