By Brian Owens, The Courier
The number of people crossing into Canada via the St. Stephen and Milltown border crossings dropped dramatically in February, amid ongoing trade and political tensions with the United States.
The data, released by Statistics Canada on March 10, show that the number of Canadians returning to Canada via the two crossings in St. Stephen fell by 24 per cent last month compared with Feb. 2024, while the number returning via the 3rd Bridge, which also serves commercial vehicles, fell by 15 per cent.
Even on Campobello Island, where residents often have no option but to travel to the United States to access the rest of Canada, numbers fell by 6 per cent.
The number of U.S. citizens entering Canada also fell, though by a smaller amount – 11 per cent fewer Americans entered Canada via St. Stephen and Milltown compared with February of last year.
Some data from border crossing amid the U.S.-Canada trade war. (Ray Harris/DataWazo)
A similar drop in traffic was seen across New Brunswick and the rest of Canada. Nationally, the number of Canadians returning by land fell by 23 per cent compared with Feb. 2024, representing about 4 million fewer people crossing the border. British Columbia had the largest drop at 29 per cent, while New Brunswick as a whole was down 19 per cent – similar to the drop of 17 per cent seen in Alberta.
While a weak Canadian dollar may account for some of the decrease it is not the full story, says Ray Harris, owner of the data strategy consultancy DataWazo in Fredericton who has analysed the numbers. The numbers actually rose slightly in January, despite the poor exchange rate.
“Our dollar hasn’t been good for a while, so while it’s a contributing factor it’s probably not the most important one,” he said.
The trend is even more stark when looking at the trend over the past year. Every month until Feb. 2025 had higher traffic than the year before; crossings in New Brunswick in Feb. 2024 were 30 per cent higher than in Feb. 2023.
“With this sudden drop it’s as clear as day that with the political tension and weak dollar combined, there’s a different sentiment about going to the United States,” said Harris. “And with American visitors also down it shows that it is a mutual feeling.”
