Congressional report finds drop in Canadian tourists hurting U.S. businesses

Democrats on the U.S. Congress’s Joint Economic Committee have released a report raising concerns about declining Canadian visitors, highlighting what border communities in the Maritime provinces and New England states have noticed.

The report says “the negative impacts of President (Donald) Trump’s tariff policies have been particularly stark in states along the U.S.-Canada border, which have many businesses that rely on short-term visits by Canadians.”

In Maine, for example, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reporting a nearly 20 per cent drop in border crossings in 2025 compared to the same time last year.

“Canada is a small percentage of our overall visitors, but it has a disproportionate impact on some of these communities,” said Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.

The minority Democrats on the committee also cited a decrease in passengers on the Cat Ferry between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine.

This past July, the ferry’s operator reported an almost 20 per cent drop in business over the summer.

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood told Global News she believes Trump’s tariffs and policies played a role.

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“Ninety-eight per cent of what is happening is a result of that, it’s obvious here anyway,” she said.

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Maine businesses impacted by cross-border political tensions with Canada

Woodcock said that strained relationship between the two sides is having an impact on border communities that have had longstanding friendships.

“There has been a lot of pressure on this relationship. We’ve seen it with reduced visitors across the border, we’ve seen some of the impacts of tariffs in Maine, and ultimately we’ve seen it in our relationship with our neighbours,” he said.

However, Mood said she hasn’t noticed a dip in U.S. visitors to Yarmouth.

“They came in droves,” she added.

The report isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about trade policies and its impact on border states.

In June, Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, visited New Brunswick and met with Premier Susan Holt in an attempt to improve relations between her state and the province.

“The small businesses, the ones whose families come from New Brunswick, whose families come from Quebec, those are the ones who are being hurt right now,” Mills said on June 24.

According to this latest report, Canadian tourism contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy last year and supported 140,000 jobs.

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