A new report is providing a sad snapshot of how badly some American states are struggling economically, as fewer Canadians drive across the border.

The report, from the Joint Economic Committee Minority — led by Democratic members of the bipartisan congressional panel — outlines complaints from nearly a dozen states that line Canada’s border.

The committee says U.S. President Donald Trump’s implementation of hefty tariffs and repeated threats to annex Canada have caused Canadians to lose interest in heading south.

“In 2024, Canadian tourism contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 140,000 American jobs. The negative impacts of President Trump’s tariff policies have been particularly stark in states along the U.S.-Canada border, which have many businesses that rely on short-term visits by Canadians,” says the report.

It says every single state along the U.S.-Canada border is facing declines in tourism amid rising economic pressure. The states mentioned were Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Vermont and Washington state.

Since shortly after Trump’s presidential inauguration, leisure travel by both land and air has dropped off significantly.

Last month, Whatcom County statistics reported a major year-over-year drop at four border crossings for the tenth month in a row. In November alone, there was a 38 per cent decline in B.C. plates heading south.

Below are testimonies cited in the report.

“During COVID, we almost went bankrupt, and the effects have lingered. We got about 50 per cent of our customers back last summer, but now we’re back down to 25 per cent. We can’t pay the bills if this continues. I don’t even know how to explain how tough these last five years have been,” said Lars Jacobson, owner of Jake’s Landing in Porthill, Ind.

“[My Canadian neighbours are emailing me] just saying, ‘Hey, we’re not coming down right now. We’re just going to wait some things out.’ And they’re very kind about it. They’re very respectful to us and to our business, and they know that it’s not — and we know also — that it’s not personally us or the North Shore,” said Sarah Jorgenson Hallberg, owner of Java Moose in Grand Marias, Minn.

“Being only eight miles from the border, normally Canadians make up anywhere from 15-25 percent of visitors. Now, I can probably count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand. I’m just trying to plug along and keep my nose above the waterline,” said Elizabeth Guerin, owner of Fiddleheads in Colebrook, N.H.

“The drop in visits from Canadian tourists has had a noticeable impact on our bottom line. With Canadians making up about 10% of our business, fewer cross-border travellers mean fewer tastings, tours, and wine sales – a ripple effect that touches our entire operation, underscoring how important cross-border tourism is to our business model,” said Scott Osborn, president and co-owner of Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, N.Y.

The report says every kind of business, from grocery stores to restaurants and shops, is hurting, with many owners unclear about what the future holds if Canadian tourism dollars don’t return.

The latest report from Statistics Canada on air passenger travel through major airports in this country showed fewer Canadians were crossing the border for the ninth straight month.

The federal agency found travellers heading to the U.S. only accounted for 24.4 per cent of airport traffic in October – down from 28 per cent last year.

Instead, the numbers showed Canadians were opting to travel domestically, with a bump of 8.5 per cent in travel to Canadian cities in that same period.