Southbound border traffic plummets amid American tariff and annexation threats

Canadians are staying home.

Cross-border traffic between British Columbia and Washington State has plunged in February amid calls for boycotts of American products, according to data released by Whatcom County and analyzed by the Fraser Valley Current.

Car traffic at the Peace Arch border crossing during the Family Day/Presidents Day long weekend was down by more than 40%. Traffic at the three other crossings in southwest BC was down by more than 20% compared to the previous year.

The numbers appear to suggest that Canadians are actually acting on vows to not travel to the United States in the wake of tariff threats and US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about annexing Canada.

Note: All figures in this story come from CascadeGateway.com, a website operated by the Whatcom Council of Governments. It uses data collected and released by the BC and Washington State governments. You can view the data for yourself here.

The decline in traffic appears largely tied to Trump’s vow to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian products. (Imposition of the tariffs has been delayed until early March. However, new tariffs for Canada’s steel and aluminum sectors were announced during the month-long pause, which American officials say would “stack” on the initial tariffs.)

At the Sumas/Huntingdon border crossing in Abbotsford, weekend border traffic through November, December and early January increased from the previous year. But the arrival of February brought a sharp turnaround. Traffic was down 18% during the first weekend and by 9% over the second weekend.

If the decline is the result of a boycott, one would expect travel to drop sharpest during weekends with more discretionary or recreational travel than routine trips tied to jobs or family visits. And that appears to have happened. The recent long weekend saw a massive 23% decline in car traffic from the previous year.

The statistics are based on southbound cars and the year-over-year decline is even steeper when one considers traffic on Friday and Saturday, when American cross-border travellers are more likely to be heading north, rather than south. Last Friday and Saturday, southbound car traffic was 27% lower than during the same weekend last year.

The trend is much the same across the region. At the Peace Arch crossing, Saturday southbound car traffic in January had declined by about 12% from the previous year. February, though, has seen traffic evaporate—it’s down 34% from the same time last year. Every single Saturday has seen a decline of more than 20%. Traffic during the Family Day long weekend was down 45%, with barely half as many cars heading south as did so in 2024.

Southbound Friday and Saturday traffic levels in 2025 are now struggling—and usually failing—to match mid-week border crossings in 2024.

Tourism officials in northern Washington say they don’t yet have enough data to talk about the impact on businesses there. Visit Bellingham communications manager Becky Mandelbaum wrote they are “monitoring the situation,” and noted that cross-border visits have historically fluctuated based on the exchange rate and economic factors.

“We love our Canadian visitors and hope that our neighbors to the north will continue to visit us and experience our outdoor recreation, cultural amenities, and warm community,” she wrote.

In Bellingham, though, some residents say traffic around large big box stores has declined considerably.

“Yesterday I was at Target and I swear it has been a long time since I have seen the lot as empty as it was,” one resident wrote on Reddit shortly after Trump’s declaration of tariffs. They weren’t the only one to observe relatively quiet roads, parking lots, and grocery store aisles.

How long Canadians stay away will depend on a range of factors—not least among them the moods of American politicians and the neighbours they have angered. Warmer weather, a desire for lower prices, and sheer habit could all lead Canadians to revert to old habits. For now, though, Canadians seem more inclined to stay north of the 49th parallel.

Southbound traffic at Peace Arch Border Crossing

Saturdays and Sundays are in bold. If the text is too small, you can find a more-basic version with larger print below.