Canadian air passenger traffic to U.S. down for 9th consecutive month

For the ninth consecutive month, fewer passengers at Canadian airports are heading to the United States amid the trade war.

New data from Statistics Canada shows total Canadian air passenger traffic in October was up by 4.5 per cent to five million travellers from the same time last year, but the number of people on U.S.-bound trips is down 8.9 per cent to 1.2 million travellers.

The drop comes almost a year after U.S. President Donald Trump first started musing about making Canada the 51st state, a threat he has repeated throughout the trade war.

When asked if he was considering using military force to take over Canada in January, Trump did not rule out a plan for annexation.

“No, economic force,” he said. “Because Canada and the United States would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better financial security.”

Story continues below advertisement 1:53 New StatsCan data shows just how much U.S. border travel has dropped

Trump began the trade war with Canada in February by slapping 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products except energy, critical minerals and potash, which were hit with a rate of 10 per cent.

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Since then, Trump has carved out an exemption for free trade-compliant goods but is still hammering Canadian steel, copper and aluminum with a 50 per cent duty, lumber at 45 per cent, and non-free trade compliant goods at 25 per cent.

When Carney visited the Oval Office in October, Trump was asked about Canadian tourism dropping due to his 51st state comments.

“It’s something that will get worked out. There’s still great love between the two countries,” Trump said.

“We want Canada to do great, but there’s a point at which we also want the same business, we’re competing for the same business. That’s the problem. That’s why I keep mentioning one way to solve that problem. There’s a very easy way.”

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Story continues below advertisement 1:46 More Canadians avoiding U.S. travel amid trade war: StatCan

The U.S. Travel Association estimates international tourism spending in the U.S. will fall by 3.2 per cent this year and attributes Canadians boycotting the U.S. as the “primary driver” for the $5.7-billion US loss.

Meanwhile, travel within Canada is up. October saw an 8.5 per cent boost in domestic air traffic  compared to the same time last year, up to 2.4 million passengers.

Canada had a record-breaking summer for tourism, generating nearly $60 billion in revenue, according to Destination Canada. The six per cent year-over-year increase was “driven by a strong base of Canadian travellers who chose to explore our country like never before.”

The domestic travel boom is consistent with recent Ipsos polling, which found 72 per cent of Canadians believe Trump’s comments about becoming the 51st state have only strengthened Canadian pride.

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