Data reveals 42% drop in Canadian visits to U.S. last year

World Phone data reveals 42% drop in Canadian visits to U.S. last year By Ahmad Mukhtar Ahmad Mukhtar Producer Ahmad Mukhtar is a producer for CBS News based in Toronto, Canada. He covers politics, conflict and terrorism, with a focus on news from Canada and his home nation of Afghanistan, which he left following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Read Full Bio Ahmad Mukhtar May 12, 2026 / 12:22 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Toronto — The neighbors just aren't visiting the way they used to.A study by the University of Toronto suggests a roughly 42% reduction in visits to U.S. cities by residents of Canada last year. The drop — much steeper than official border crossing statistics suggest — is largely attributed to mounting political and trade tension between the two countries.By tracking cellphone activity, University of Toronto researchers found "a year-over-year median decline of approximately 42% in Canadian visits to U.S. metropolitan areas."According to official statistics, the number of Canadians who entered the country after returning from the U.S. in 2025 was down 25%, while the number of U.S. residents visiting Canada dropped 75%.According to the study, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, saw the biggest drop, with some 65% fewer Canadian residents coming home from the East Coast vacation hot spot. Yuma, Arizona, saw a 62% decrease. San Francisco and the Florida cities of Miami, Palm Bay and Panama City were among the other top 10 U.S. metro areas where the data indicates a more than 50% drop in visiting Canadians last year.The study's authors say, aside from the evident drop in vacation visits by Canadians, the data also reveals a sharp drop in visits to major economic hubs."High-tech and financial centers like San Francisco and Houston appear to be experiencing reductions not only in tourists but also in business-related travel, reflecting changing travel preferences due to broader economic uncertainties...