Voyageur 103
Canadians Have Stopped Going to the States. The Numbers Are Brutal, and Canada's Insolvency Filings Reached Their Worst Quarter Since 2009.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
Please don’t forget to share, subscribe or send feedback.
Canadians Have Stopped Going to the States. The Numbers Are Brutal.
A University of Toronto study tracking the movement of seven million cellphones a month found that Canadian visits to U.S. cities dropped by 42 per cent year-over-year, and that’s much more significant number than the border crossing data had been showing. Snowbird hotspots like Myrtle Beach and Yuma have lost more than 60 per cent of their Canadian visitors. In chart form, the researchers wrote, "two years of data looks like a heart monitor that shows several strong pulses before basically flat-lining."
The study - which looked at cellphone presence in more than 250 U.S. destinations between April 2024 and March 2026 - also found that the drop goes beyond tourists. Trade-related travel is falling too, with cities tied to Ontario manufacturing corridors showing big drops that pure tourism numbers miss. The bigger reduction when compared to official border stats suggests Canadians are visiting fewer locations and staying for less time even when they do cross.
Three cities saw Canadian visits climb - Gainesville, Cleveland, and Portland - by between 21 and 35 per cent. Researchers say they aren’t sure why. "Your guess is as good as mine," said U of T professor Karen Chapple.
For the millions of Canadians who have lived, worked, or spent winters in the U.S. for years, that flat line on the chart is doing a lot of talking.
Read more: National Post / mappingtariffs.org
Advertisement:
A photo from the old country:
Canada's Insolvency Filings Reached Their Worst Quarter Since 2009
Some 37,121 Canadians filed for insolvency in the first three months of 2026 - the highest quarterly consumer insolvency count since the 2009 “global” financial crisis. Then number is eight and a half per cent above where it was in the same period last year. British Columbia led the climb with a 16.2% increase, followed by Prince Edward Island at 15.3% and Ontario at 14.7%.
Insolvency trustee Doug Hoyes said most people are able to absorb a bad month or two, but something has changed. Trade wars, in addition to a literal war have been pushing energy costs up in a weakening job market - and all the factors are compounding. "A lot of people are now reaching the breaking point, they cannot do it," he said. The mix is also getting worse in Ontario and Alberta, where raw bankruptcies are growing faster than consumer proposals (the difference is that in a bankruptcy, assets are handed over immediately, so it’s an indication of a more dire predicament).
For Canadian expats with mortgages, investment properties, or family members who are still running businesses back home, this data will be received differently than it will be for people still inside the country. The stress isn't abstract when it's a family member calling from Vancouver, or a struggling rental property that's been underwater since the rate hikes began and has no indication of making a comeback.
Read more: CBC News