'Full-blown crisis': Travel from Saskatchewan to U.S. has plummeted after Donald Trump's election

The number of travellers heading south of the border from Saskatchewan has dropped significantly since the election of President Donald Trump, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The most recent available data is from April. It shows that just over 27,000 travellers entered the United States that month at the 12 ports of entry that border Saskatchewan.

In April 2024, those 12 ports of entry recorded 34,800 travellers. That's a year-over-year drop of 7,700 people, or 22 per cent.

The decline is part of a trend that can be found across the data collected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Saskatchewan border crossings.

When comparing numbers reported in April 2024 and April 2025, there's been a drop in the number of passenger vehicles (23 per cent) and trucks (20 per cent).

In fact, the CBP data shows that every month since Trump was sworn into office in February has seen fewer travellers than the same month in 2024.

The decline is already having a material effect on Canadian businesses.

The executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, which represents 32 duty free stores across the land border, said the shops are in a "full-blown crisis." One of those stores is located at the North Portal-Portal border crossing in Saskatchewan.

Barbara Barrett said that on average, sales at the stores nationwide have dropped by about 40 or 50 per cent.

"In the more remote areas in the east and the west, we're seeing up to 80 per cent down. So it is a dramatic decrease and we are feeling the brunt of the elbows up [movement]. I'd say that we're taking it on the chin," Barrett said.

Barrett said the drop in traffic came as Trump ratcheted up political tensions with Canada by making comments about the country becoming the 51st state.

The president's decision to announce and then retreat from a series of tariffs on Canadian goods being imported into the United States hasn't helped.

Barrett admitted that the stores struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel across the U.S. border was shuttered. The lack of travel now is like being kicked when they're already down, she said.

The compounding issues could force tough decisions for many of the duty-free store owners, with approximately a third of the stores facing closure.