Ottawa residents and their eastern Ontario neighbours are increasingly staying on this side of the border — and the trend is hard to ignore.
A new report from CTV News highlights that Canadians in eastern Ontario, including the Ottawa region, are making fewer trips to the United States than they once were. For a part of the country that sits just hours from major U.S. border crossings like the Thousand Islands Bridge and the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, that's a significant shift.
A Region With Deep Cross-Border Ties
Eastern Ontario has always had a uniquely close relationship with its American neighbours. Ottawa residents have historically popped across the border for shopping runs to places like Watertown or Plattsburgh, weekend getaways to New York State, or road trips further south. The proximity makes it easy — or at least it used to.
In recent months, that calculus has been changing. Growing tension between Canada and the United States over trade policy, including tariff disputes that have strained the relationship between the two countries, has prompted many Canadians to reconsider their travel habits. A wave of "Buy Canadian" sentiment has extended beyond the grocery store and into vacation planning.
What's Driving the Change
The reasons are layered. Some Ottawa residents cite economic concerns — a weaker Canadian dollar and the rising cost of cross-border travel make U.S. trips feel less like a bargain than they once did. Others point to a growing sense of solidarity with Canadian businesses and a desire to keep their spending dollars at home.
There's also an undeniable shift in mood. For many Canadians, especially those who've been following the trade dispute closely, crossing the border feels less routine than it did a few years ago. What was once a casual weekend decision now comes with more thought — and sometimes, a decision to skip it altogether.
Ottawa Has Plenty to Keep You Busy
The silver lining? Ottawa and the surrounding region offer no shortage of alternatives. From spring hiking in Gatineau Park to exploring the Rideau Valley, weekend escapes don't require a passport. Local tourism operators, restaurants, and attractions stand to benefit as more eastern Ontario residents redirect their spending closer to home.
Ottawa's hospitality industry has been quietly capitalizing on this shift, with staycation packages and local event programming drawing in visitors who might otherwise have headed to Burlington, Vermont or Lake Placid.
The Bigger Picture
The decline in U.S.-bound travel from eastern Ontario is part of a broader national trend. Statistics from border agencies and tourism bodies have pointed to a softening of Canadian cross-border traffic in recent months, with numbers not seen since the pandemic era.
For Ottawa, a city that prides itself on its proximity to both French and English Canada — and its role as the nation's capital — there's something fitting about residents choosing to explore what's closer to home first.
Whether the trend sticks once trade tensions ease remains to be seen. But for now, it appears many eastern Ontario residents are finding plenty of reasons to stay put.
Source: CTV News via Google News Ottawa RSS feed.
