In a delightful twist, they are all in support of their favorite home team – the Toronto Blue Jays. They’re setting aside their complaints about steel tariffs and rising political animus with the United States to demonstrate their patriotism. This emotional journey takes place on the stage of many of the Trump administration’s most contentious policies. These rulings have put unprecedented pressure on cross-border relations and severely impacted travel and tourism between the two countries.
As the Trump administration poured gasoline on the fire with tariffs and blistering rhetoric against Canada, tensions reached a boiling point. In protest, millions of Canadians decided to avoid visiting the U.S. This sudden change has led to a steep drop in tourism. No country has been as severely impacted as Canada, home to the U.S.’s longest international border. According to statistics, border crossings from Canadian passenger vehicles into Washington state have fallen off the map. Of comparison on the first nine months of 2025, the drop was even more shocking a 36% from the success of September 2024.
Visit Seattle, the agency that markets the city and greater King County as a destination, is estimating a gobsmacking 26% decline in international tourism by 2025. Canadian visitors will make up a large share of this drop. In 2024, foreigners pumped more than $586 million into the Canadian economy. Retrospectively, this sum made up 60% of all international visitor spending and was 6.6% of total tourism dollars for Seattle and the surrounding region.
The impact from the drop in Canadian tourism has been real dollar and cents impacts on small locally owned businesses. The FRS Clipper, a private operator with fast ferries, usually operates between Seattle and Victoria, B.C. That still wasn’t enough, as it needed to chop routes and rein in operations this summer at peak season because there are far fewer Canadians visiting this year.
Others are making extraordinary efforts, but are nonetheless committed to doing anything they can to cheer on the Blue Jays. They psychopathically come together, like during those recent playoff games against the Seattle Mariners. And we know that fans are passionate about this issue. That interest, as it turns out, is fueled in part by Trump’s past threats to make Canada the “51st state.”
For Rhiannon McMillan, a 36-year-old electrician from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, it’s her first time attending a women’s World Cup match and she’s thrilled. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to purchase this ticket for $300 just to get by the customs. She referred to it as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to see her two favorite teams go at it.
“This was a small pocket of love and harmony for a few hours.” – Rhiannon McMillan
One of those fledgling tea enthusiasts was Nathan Bird, a 47-year-old from Victoria who made the trip to Seattle. He estimated about $1,000 for a “down and dirty” 24-hour experience. He didn’t have any issue spending $350 on his game ticket. He reiterated that he desires to keep the conversation on baseball, not on politics.
“We need to be friends. Let’s just see some good baseball and forget all the other crap.” – Nathan Bird
Grant Murray, a 62-year-old lawyer from Vancouver, said he made the trip to Seattle specifically for the Blue Jays-Mariners matchup. He was able to get ahold of a “stand anywhere” ticket for $280, which he considered the cheapest ticket he could find.
“I’m only here for the Blue Jays.” – Grant Murray
Murray was looking forward to eating a hot dog at the ballgame. He said he was afraid to spend any more of the city’s money on Seattle, given the political climate that continued to brew.
“I’ll have a hot dog inside but I’m not here to spend money.” – Grant Murray
Bob Donegan, President of Ivar’s, talked about his disappointment at the record drop in Canadian visitors all year long. He spearheaded a local buy-in campaign in May that won approval to lure new visitors with freebies, specials and discounts. This was a large part of creating buzz around the electrifying Blue Jays-Mariners series.
Hoping for an upswing in tourism following the playoff games, Donegan stated, “I switched from not visiting (Seattle) to visiting because of this.” His optimism is a good indication of the excitement you’ll find among local businesses, all of whom are eager to revive connections to their Canadian counterparts.
To serve fans making the trip from Canada, the Clipper ferry service introduced new Clipper Express sailings specifically for the playoffs. We planned non-stop rides into Seattle’s downtown to coincide with each of the three playoff games. This initiative will help to encourage more Canadians to experience this great sporting event first-hand.
