I help run a small annual founders retreat with around 20 other folks, and this is the first year we have zero Canadians attending (typically ~25%).
These are folks I know and talk to, and they're not even so much explicitly boycotting the US as the rhetoric is enough that they just feel sort of uncomfortable and unwelcome.
Exactly. Even though I'm fairly confident that I wouldn't be detained at the border under dubious pretexts, and reasonably sure I wouldn't get black-bagged by ICE agents, the thought of being around a population who largely support going to war with my country isn't a comfortable experience. I've been to the northern US before and largely had no issues, but driving around with Ontario plates now that 30-50% of the population has been told to hate me isn't inviting.
> but driving around with Ontario plates now that 30-50% of the population has been told to hate me isn't inviting.
I went to Idaho once in a car with California (CA) plates, ended up stopping in a fairly small town overnight before heading to see some of the parks. The person at the front desk of the hotel I stayed at noticed the CA plates and suggested I remove them (even offered a screwdriver they kept at the front desk for the situation) because they've had multiple cars with CA plates vandalized, specifically for being from CA. This was years ago, so not even strictly related to the current insanity.
I can absolutely believe that with the current climate, there are places close to the Canada border where parking in the wrong area with Canada plates would draw unwanted attention.
I am Canadian. I used to collect my boarding passes and had a stack that was around 3 inches thick. Most of those were to the U.S. for leisure, conferences, etc.
With the way things are going, I don't anticipate ever entering the U.S. again.
A French scientist was entering the US for a conference and was asked to show his phone. His phone had conversations with other colleagues criticizing Trump's science fund cuts. They took his phone and laptop and denied him entry.
I would expect many conferences to have less and less international attendees in the coming years.
The previous round of Trump, a former prime minister of Norway even got stopped for a while for the "crime" of having an Iranian stamp in his passport. With it being several times worse now, I understand many are apprehensive of going.
https://www.thejournal.ie/kjell-magne-bondevik-washington-ai...
just curious - why do this founders retreat? im sure youre not making from it what you put into it. and it doesnt sound like there's enough recurring friends to make it a friend group thing
As a semi European it's a bit bizarre. There's a probably more of a worry with the physical destruction in Ukraine which is also semi Europe. I'd be nice if as a condition for peace talks Trump could require the Russians to stop sending missiles into apartment blocks and similar civilian targets.
As a Canadian who lives near the border (as many do), my family and I have been shopping in the US for decades. Covid already put a dent in that, but I can't see ever doing that again. As comparison, my dad remembers going weekly to the US for grocery shopping.
We live near the border and (before COVID) had Canadian friends we would visit regularly, and they us. It's heartbreaking to think we might never get to see them again.
Look up Jasmine Mooney. If you do not have a pristine visa and completely clean record I wouldn't travel into the U.S. It makes no sense to take unnecessary risks for a holiday vacation.
Sadly, if you have had a visa application denied before, it is very hard to get a new one - in any country. We don't have the full story of that case (only her side), but I am guessing that she may have known this and been less than honest when she was applying for her second visa about that denial. Still it's hard to know without confirmation.
Reading between the lines, she had her visa cancelled previously. She then seems to have flown from Canada to Mexico and applied at the border and I'm guessing this bit but probably filled the form wrong like not saying about the cancelled visa. Then the mucked up bit is rather than just refused entry she was put down for deportation but Mexico doesn't take non Mexican deportees so she ended up in the nasty holding system for illegal immigrants there. The US banned her from entering for five years so I think there must have been an error/deception on the application.
I guess the answer if you are Canadian is sort it out at the embassy or if you are chancing things do it at the Canada/US border not the Mexican one.
> Air Canada, the largest airline by seats between the U.S. and Canada, disagrees with the analysis.
> "We can confirm that [the preliminary OAG data] is not reflective of Air Canada's booking patterns, nor the state of the market, based on all information sources available to us," an Air Canada spokesperson said.
It would be fascinating to see this trend data matched with statistics on how many Canadians are embarking on their journey from the US. Historically, Canadians will drive across the border in search of cheaper airfare in the US. Cities like Buffalo, NY, Burlington, VT, Detroit, MI, Minot and Grand Forks, ND.
At least that's been my anecdotal experience flying in and out of those cities. In Buffalo for example I distinctly remember literal bus loads of Canadians staying at nearby hotels before boarding US carriers headed for warmer destinations.
I suspect with the current environment, both are down. Still would be interesting though.
> Historically, Canadians will drive across the border in search of cheaper airfare in the US. Cities like Buffalo, NY, Burlington, VT, Detroit, MI, Minot and Grand Forks, ND.
I don't see that being the case for quite a few years. USD 1 has been ~ CAD 1.30 for a few years, so any US flight would need to be 24% cheaper dollar-to-dollar to even consider it. And that is before taking into account driving costs, traffic jams and wait times at the border crossing.
So if my Canada-origin flight price is CAD 100, and the equivalent flight out of a US airport is USD 76 (24% less dollar-to-dollar), I'm not saving any money.
Flying from Canada to non-US destinations is often MUCH cheaper because there's no TSA fees (which the US puts on the departing airport) for the return leg.
As someone from Buffalo it is (anecdotally) pretty common for Canadians to come here to fly to other parts of the US for cheaper, and for us to go to Toronto for cheaper international flights.
It's a real thing, my family would frequently travel to SeaTac from Vancouver to travel to sunny destinations because airfare was substantially cheaper, and there were more direct flight options, especially to the Caribbean. We also travelled frequently to Seattle for MLB, NFL, and NHL games. During the first Trump administration we stopped due to outright hostility from some, individual, border agents, but picked up again over the last few years. That all stopped in December when Trump started "joking" about annexation, and threatening Canada and other allies.
I have also set expectations with my leaders at work that even work travel to the US beyond previously booked trips (the last of which is next week) is off the table, and I would prefer to find a new job than continue to travel to a country that is treating it's allies so poorly.
The magnitude is surprising for this to be attributed to the trade dispute - I wonder if this is primarily due to immigration concerns? I know a lot of folks on H-1B visas from Canada, and I imagine for those folks any non-essential international travel would seem overly risky.
I obviously can't speak for all of my countrymen, but I can say that people are really, really pissed about the annexation threats. We're upset about the tariffs, but we're absolutely incendiary about the threats to our sovereignty.
US media seems to be sanewashing the annexation threats as a "joke", but we take it very seriously up here. Your president has said many times that it's not a joke. Believe him.
AFAIK literally no contemporary US politician but Trump has ever entertained the idea of annexing another country, but I have zero confidence that anyone around him would do anything but roll over if he gave the order. He isn't just pretending to be crazy for galaxy-brained game-theoretic reasons, he literally is crazy and unpredictable and surrounded by shameless enablers. Even though the military would be legally obligated to refuse an unlawful order from him, I no longer have any confidence that they actually would.
Canadians were always insecure, the recent events just exacerbated it and brought it to the fore. Canadians have to have a hard look at themselves, they overall fare poorly on many fronts: jobs, taxes, housing and (gasp!) healthcare compared to the US. If they fared better they would not feel so threatened/outraged. I'm however pessimistic that they are capable of that level of introspection, because the smartest/wisest Canadians have already left and immigrated to the US. These smart/wise people always knew their country was sub-par despite the delusional rhetoric of superiority that Canadians often indulge in against the US (we have 'free' healthcare!).
ICE is arresting/detaining people in chaotic and unpredictable ways right now. It is a very real risk for any non-citizen to cross a US border at this time.
For Canada specifically, I would imagine the story of the Canadian woman[1] who was incarcerated without charges for two weeks(!!!) while holding a valid visa would deter a significant number of travelers. As an American, I would not travel to any country where stories like this one were emerging.
It's been a few days since I read that article but wasn't she unaware her visa had expired? Either way, the way she was treated was barbaric and if I had the good fortune to be Canadian I wouldn't risk it either.
Are Americans not aware that their head of state is threatening to annex us? Oh, and judging from social media comments, his supporters think this is a really nifty, clever idea.
> Are Americans not aware that their head of state is threatening to annex us? Oh, and judging from social media comments, his supporters think this is a really nifty, clever idea. Why do you think this is about a trade dispute?
I don't see why you guys can't dislike us for more than one reason. The annexation threat, and then the weird tariff demands that came out of left field, they both seem like good reasons, and you could even treat them as addition.
The thing I don't get is that if Canada became part of the US, Republicans would never hold power again. Don't they know that?
That makes me think this is all asinine rhetoric to
(1) squeeze Canada, Europe, and other allies of the trade deficit goodwill for a quick buck. That stuff America used to maintain global soft power and hegemony - cashing it in for a quick buck.
(2) run quick and chaotic pump and dumps where donors get to make enormous alpha on the market volatility (this could seriously just be market manipulation games?), and/or
(3) satisfy the geopolitical powers that may or may not be underwriting Trump, Musk, Gabbard, et al. Saudis, Russians, and Chinese. Several of this gang are politically exposed persons, possibly with exposure or debts to all three groups.
It's primarily the constant, repeated threats of annexation ("51st state"). Americans don't seem to understand how much these have tanked the relationship between the two countries.
Yep. As a former Canadian soldier, it was a pretty shit afternoon when I had to explain to my kids what annexation meant in practical terms, and the role that Canada has played in preventing and repelling similar actions in other countries.
It's an easy word to say, and the implication that it would be peaceful or non-violent because of economic pressures ignores the fact that Canadians don't want it.
Let's not trivialize Trump by calling him "orange man", please. Hitler was a whiny little shit nugget as well, but that didn't limit the amount of abject evil he was able to orchestrate. The problem with whiny little shit nuggets is they attract other whiny shit nuggets, and they bond (clump up) over their shared persecution complex. And now we've got a real problem on our hands.
In the context of Canada, as an American all I can say is sorry and also thank you for doing everything in your power to resist "our" dictator since our own federal government is abjectly failing.
It'll be part boycott, part cancellation of business trips because it's too difficult to do business with the US, part concerns about US immigration doing crazy things, and part delaying booking trips to the last minute (the figures are forward booking data) because who knows what'll happen next
It’s originally based on simple disrespect. Canadians are LIVID that their best friend country just changed its personality to one of betrayal and derision.
The second factor is multiple stories this month of non-criminals being treated like terrorists in cells and extrajudicial abuse.
The US now looks like North Korea from the outside.
Canada had tariffs before Trump. Now Canada is mad about the U.S. having tariffs? Canada can engage in protectionism but when others return the favor, it’s a problem?
I'm baffled that you're surprised. Trump is threatening military action against Canada. Why would you travel to an country that's threatening to invade your own?
What happens to you if you're in US and they invade Canada? You'll be an enemy national in the US. How's that going to go for you?
Apparently ~4000 new ones are issued to Canadians every year. Canadians have access to TN though which is way easier to get. I imagine everyone on a visa is strongly reconsidering any non-essential travel outside the US and giving the border guards an accompanying attempt to screw you.
Planning a couple trips from WA to BC this year - so long as we are allowed in. US border patrol has generally been less than pleasant (coming back as a citizen) at the car crossing for decades.
I (used to) make that trip every few months. When I switched from visa to green card, those agents started to say “Welcome home.” and it made me feel good.
I wonder if they will still do that. My next time crossing will be the first with US citizenship and passport.
Canadian here, I'd be pretty surprised to see a change prohibiting americans from coming here. The political discourse here is pretty strongly against the current US government (because of threats of annexation), and in support of measures to protect ourselves against that (disentangling our economy and military), but we are also pretty clear that the average American who visits Canada is not responsible for that, not necessarily in favor of that, and might well be fleeing policies of the same US government we are acting to protect ourselves against.
From 98 to roughly 2015, I used to drive or fly up for the Vancouver Folk Festival. My favorite was crossing into BC at 1-2am. “Why are you here?” “The folk festival”. “Are you a musician?” “Nope, just one of the folk.” “Have a great time!”
> US border patrol has generally been less than pleasant (coming back as a citizen) at the car crossing for decades.
No matter where I've visited or how repressive the regime, in all of my years of travel, I've never seen worse human beings than the US border patrol in Washington State. There's something fundamentally wrong going on up there and it's been like this for decades.
Write your congress repetitiveness. So long as they think we are happy they won't do anything. If they think we are mad things will change. Make sure you get everyone else you know to write as well.
If your Congress person is Republican, they are much more afraid of being primaried by someone who tows the line and is being financed by Musk than their constituents.
Readit News
These are folks I know and talk to, and they're not even so much explicitly boycotting the US as the rhetoric is enough that they just feel sort of uncomfortable and unwelcome.
I went to Idaho once in a car with California (CA) plates, ended up stopping in a fairly small town overnight before heading to see some of the parks. The person at the front desk of the hotel I stayed at noticed the CA plates and suggested I remove them (even offered a screwdriver they kept at the front desk for the situation) because they've had multiple cars with CA plates vandalized, specifically for being from CA. This was years ago, so not even strictly related to the current insanity.
I can absolutely believe that with the current climate, there are places close to the Canada border where parking in the wrong area with Canada plates would draw unwanted attention.
Hope your identity is not connected to this account because you just gave the reason.
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With the way things are going, I don't anticipate ever entering the U.S. again.
I would expect many conferences to have less and less international attendees in the coming years.
It's starting: https://boycott-ietf127.org/
We just don't want to spend our money there, or be around MAGA apologists.
There are a scary number of people being detained for bullshit reasons.
I guess the answer if you are Canadian is sort it out at the embassy or if you are chancing things do it at the Canada/US border not the Mexican one.
> Air Canada, the largest airline by seats between the U.S. and Canada, disagrees with the analysis. > "We can confirm that [the preliminary OAG data] is not reflective of Air Canada's booking patterns, nor the state of the market, based on all information sources available to us," an Air Canada spokesperson said.
At least that's been my anecdotal experience flying in and out of those cities. In Buffalo for example I distinctly remember literal bus loads of Canadians staying at nearby hotels before boarding US carriers headed for warmer destinations.
I suspect with the current environment, both are down. Still would be interesting though.
US CBP Traveler and Conveyance Statistics - https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/travel
I don't see that being the case for quite a few years. USD 1 has been ~ CAD 1.30 for a few years, so any US flight would need to be 24% cheaper dollar-to-dollar to even consider it. And that is before taking into account driving costs, traffic jams and wait times at the border crossing.
So if my Canada-origin flight price is CAD 100, and the equivalent flight out of a US airport is USD 76 (24% less dollar-to-dollar), I'm not saving any money.
Flying from Canada to non-US destinations is often MUCH cheaper because there's no TSA fees (which the US puts on the departing airport) for the return leg.
I have also set expectations with my leaders at work that even work travel to the US beyond previously booked trips (the last of which is next week) is off the table, and I would prefer to find a new job than continue to travel to a country that is treating it's allies so poorly.
Dead Comment
US media seems to be sanewashing the annexation threats as a "joke", but we take it very seriously up here. Your president has said many times that it's not a joke. Believe him.
Canadians were always insecure, the recent events just exacerbated it and brought it to the fore. Canadians have to have a hard look at themselves, they overall fare poorly on many fronts: jobs, taxes, housing and (gasp!) healthcare compared to the US. If they fared better they would not feel so threatened/outraged. I'm however pessimistic that they are capable of that level of introspection, because the smartest/wisest Canadians have already left and immigrated to the US. These smart/wise people always knew their country was sub-par despite the delusional rhetoric of superiority that Canadians often indulge in against the US (we have 'free' healthcare!).
For Canada specifically, I would imagine the story of the Canadian woman[1] who was incarcerated without charges for two weeks(!!!) while holding a valid visa would deter a significant number of travelers. As an American, I would not travel to any country where stories like this one were emerging.
1 - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-det...
Why do you think this is about a trade dispute?
The US can no longer be trusted. They’ve squandered a century of friendship. For nothing.
I don't see why you guys can't dislike us for more than one reason. The annexation threat, and then the weird tariff demands that came out of left field, they both seem like good reasons, and you could even treat them as addition.
That makes me think this is all asinine rhetoric to
(1) squeeze Canada, Europe, and other allies of the trade deficit goodwill for a quick buck. That stuff America used to maintain global soft power and hegemony - cashing it in for a quick buck.
(2) run quick and chaotic pump and dumps where donors get to make enormous alpha on the market volatility (this could seriously just be market manipulation games?), and/or
(3) satisfy the geopolitical powers that may or may not be underwriting Trump, Musk, Gabbard, et al. Saudis, Russians, and Chinese. Several of this gang are politically exposed persons, possibly with exposure or debts to all three groups.
It's an easy word to say, and the implication that it would be peaceful or non-violent because of economic pressures ignores the fact that Canadians don't want it.
3d option: Being pissed off at orange man threating to break an annex Canada.
In the context of Canada, as an American all I can say is sorry and also thank you for doing everything in your power to resist "our" dictator since our own federal government is abjectly failing.
The second factor is multiple stories this month of non-criminals being treated like terrorists in cells and extrajudicial abuse.
The US now looks like North Korea from the outside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_s...
Unfortunately we are dependent on them. Hopefully, this will cause us to start weening ourselves off of a single predatory partner.
What happens to you if you're in US and they invade Canada? You'll be an enemy national in the US. How's that going to go for you?
Why take that chance?
Dead Comment
I wonder if they will still do that. My next time crossing will be the first with US citizenship and passport.
Best border encounter.
No matter where I've visited or how repressive the regime, in all of my years of travel, I've never seen worse human beings than the US border patrol in Washington State. There's something fundamentally wrong going on up there and it's been like this for decades.