Big drop in U.S.-bound long weekend traffic border crossings

The May long weekend may be the kickoff to the summer travel season, but it was hard to tell at the United States border.

The latest numbers suggest a big drop in the number of British Columbian vehicles headed south at Lower Mainland crossings into Washington.

Data shared by the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit and the Washington State Department of Transportation show southbound, non-commercial traffic at the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings last Friday through Monday plummeted by roughly half compared to Victoria Day weekend last year.

Close to 40,000 vehicles used the non-commercial and NEXUS lanes over that period in 2024, while this year, it was just over 23,000.

This continues a trend being seen across the country, as many Canadians seem to be doubling down on convictions that they will avoid U.S. travel.

The latest statistics on land trips into the United States across all of its northern border crossings show April travel was down by half a million trips compared to last year — 1.7 million versus 2.2 million in April of 2024.

That is the biggest year-over-year drop yet since tensions started rising between the two countries in February over the Trump administration’s policies and threats targeting Canada’s economy and sovereignty.

Month-to-month, April trips into the U.S. from Canada declined by 100,000 compared to March, according to the latest numbers from US Customs and Border Protection.

You can watch The Leader Spirit 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date with this story. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.