At a glance
- Since President Trump’s inauguration, Canadian visits to Maine have dropped sharply — nearly 750,000 fewer land crossings through November 2025 — with the largest decline in April (35% year-over-year)
- The Canadian boycott has hit Maine’s border economies hardest: taxable retail sales in border areas fell 3.3% between February and August 2025, while restaurant and lodging sales dropped nearly 5%, compared with growth elsewhere in the state
- Trump’s policies and rhetoric have economically isolated Maine border communities, many of which rely heavily on Canadian visitors and had previously struggled economically
New MECEP analysis of federal and state data shows the number of Canadians visiting Maine has plummeted since President Trump’s inauguration and as a result economic activity in Maine’s border communities has shrunk significantly.
Since January, President Trump has made a number of antagonistic moves towards Canada, from imposing tariffs, accusing the country of allowing fentanyl smugglers to operate unhindered, to threatening to annex the country as the “51st state.” Canadians have responded with their own tariffs and boycotts of American-made products and travel to the United States.
Because of the president’s immigration policy, many people are afraid to visit the US. Some Canadian students at the University of Maine at Fort Kent and Presque Isle have chosen to complete courses online rather than face increased scrutiny when crossing the border for classes.
The impact of this deterioration in US-Canada relations is materializing on the border in Maine and other states. Since Trump’s inauguration in January through November, almost 750,000 fewer people have crossed the land border into Maine. The largest year-over-year drop-off occurred in April, when there were 35% fewer crossings than in the year before. Since then, visitation has increased somewhat, but crossings were still a quarter lower than expected in November.
Separate data collected by the Canadian government, which records the nationality of travelers crossing the border, reveals this decline is almost entirely driven by Canadians staying away from the US. Between February and July, 367,000 fewer Canadians crossed the Maine-New Brunswick border than the year before, while the number of travelers of other nationalities was just 7,000 fewer.
The Canadian boycott of Maine has had repercussions on the state’s economy, especially in areas near the border. Fewer Canadian visitors means less money spent in local stores and restaurants. While the Maine Office of Tourism reports Canadians accounted for just 5% of the state’s tourists in 2024, this likely only captures a portion of the Canadians who typically visit Maine — and those visitors have the greatest impact in communities along the border.
Spending data from Maine Revenue Services show taxable retail sales in the areas of Maine along the Canadian border saw a 3.3% slump in spending between February and August of 2025 compared to the year before. This contrasts with the rest of Maine, where spending rose 1.0% in the same time period. The effect was larger in the restaurant and lodging sector, where sales in border regions were down almost 5%, and up 1.7% in the rest of the state. The area around Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach, which is famously popular with Canadian tourists, also saw a decline in restaurant and lodging sales compared to last year.
The data show just how damaging President Trump’s rhetoric and policies have been to Maine communities. Many small businesses run on very small margins, and a 3-5% drop in sales can create serious trouble for their finances. The data also demonstrates the way in which Maine and Canada are intertwined economically, especially in border communities. Some of these same areas have struggled economically for years and are the kinds of places President Trump promised to help. Instead, his aggressive foreign policy, chaotic approach to tariffs, and inhumane immigration crackdown have served to make these parts of Maine more isolated and economically worse off.