U.S. Tourism Industry Launches ‘NY Loves Canada’ and Vegas Dollar Parity Push Amid Deepening Trade Rift with Ottawa

POLICY WIRE — Las Vegas, United States — American tourism officials are rolling out aggressive outreach campaigns—including New York’s ‘NY Loves Canada’ initiative and Las Vegas hotels treating the Canadian dollar as equal to the U.S. dollar—in a bid to reverse a steep, politically driven drop in Canadian visitors.

The effort comes amid escalating bilateral friction: after trade talks collapsed last month, former President Donald Trump imposed up to 50% import tariffs on Canadian goods, and ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America.’ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed Cabinet-level insults as childish and undignified.

Canada historically sent more overnight international visitors to the U.S. than any other country—but in 2025, Canadian residents made 25% fewer return border crossings and spent CA$3.3 billion ($2.4 billion) less on U.S. travel than in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

That retreat accelerated after Trump’s second inauguration and remarks about making Canada the 51st state, triggering a consumer-led backlash that analysts described in a July report as ‘a persistent shift away from the United States by Canadian residents in their travel preferences.’

Temporary upticks in May, June, and July coincided with the cohosted 2026 World Cup, where Canada’s national team played early matches and Carney attended the final in New Jersey alongside Trump—but car-based border crossings rose while air travel to the U.S. declined year-over-year through June.

A day after the tournament ended, Trump announced new 30-day tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian exports, citing barriers to U.S. automobiles, alcohol, and dairy—a move hospitality consultant Deborah Friedland called ‘one step forward and two steps back.’

With winter approaching—the peak season for Canadian ‘snowbirds’ in Florida, Arizona, and California—destinations face a critical test: Florida saw a 7% drop in Canadian visitors in 2025; California’s fell 20%. Vancouver marketing executive Josh Loewen, 45, said his family skipped the U.S. entirely this year for Mexico—and won’t return until after the next presidential election.

Calgary life coach Eileen March, 41, echoed that stance, citing Trump’s 51st-state rhetoric, trade policies, and a diminished sense of safety and welcome. She refuses even U.S. layovers—and says her return timeline hinges entirely on who wins the next election and how they approach U.S.-Canada relations.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)