A sustained trend of British Columbians staying north of the Washington state border in 2025 is leading to fears from border towns that depend on Canadians to survive. Data from the Whatcom Council of Governments — a U.S. regional government agency centred along the northwest Washington state border — shows a 35 per cent drop overall in southbound border crossings for B.C. He says that, despite little trouble at the Washington state border crossings, Canadians continue to not travel south. WATCH | Washington state feels impact of drop in Canadians: Washington state feels the impact of dwindling Canadian visitors | Duration 3:53 Kim Malcolm, host of All Things Considered from the NPR affiliate station KUOW, says some businesses in Washington state are fielding cancellations from Canadian travellers. and Washington state, which shares so many connections, so many families, so many friends."

Source: CBC News January 12, 2026 18:06 UTC