New data shows southbound travel into the U.S. through the Kenneth G. Ward crossing from Aldergrove into Lynden dropped by about a third over the Family Day and President's Day long weekend, usually a busy time for cross-border travel..
Publicly available statistics from the cascadegatewaydata.com site show there was a peak of 142 vehicles in the lineup to cross into Lynden, just outside Bellingham, on Monday, Feb. 17, down from a peak of 204 the previous year, a drop of 31 per cent.
On that day, when the crossing opened at 8 a.m. there were 29 cars queued up, compared to 52 on the same day and time in 2024, a 44 per cent drop.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada, Canadians have cut back on travelling to the states to shop or tour.
Numbers reported from other B.C. locations show a 30 per cent drop at the Peace Arch and Sumas crossings as well.
Guy Occhiogrosso, president/CEO of the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, said there "definitely seems to be a decrease in Canadian license plates, therefore [we're] assuming Canadian shoppers."
Occhiogrosso said usually, large box retailers in Bellingham can expect to have 25 to 30 per cent of their license plates to be Canadian, according to a 2018-2019 study.
At a very rough estimate, assuming that a one-third reduction in Canadians directly affects shopping, that could mean an eight to 10 per cent overall drop for Washington State retailers, Occhiogrosso estimated.
"When you look at retail sales tax collection for the city, that's a substantial impact on city services," he added.
Occhiogrosso believes the drop in visits will substantially affect the Bellingham airport, long a popular place for Canadians flying to U.S. destinations.
"I tend to think that may have a pretty significant impact."
It is also more bad news for smaller communities that are right on the border, and rely on Canadian shoppers, like Lynden "to some degree, but particularly Point Roberts, Blaine, and Sumas, that have never rebounded from the pandemic."
