For almost two decades, a group of 50 Canadian tourists would hop on Comfort Tour Canada luxury buses for biweekly trips to Chicago, where they’d visit — and spend money at — restaurants, shops and cultural attractions.
This year, though, the tour company has canceled all of its trips to Chicago. That’s because Canadians have become frustrated with President Donald Trump and his rhetoric toward the country.
“All of a sudden, we became villains for no reason,” Comfort Tour Canada owner Al Qanun says. “It makes no sense.”
Qanun says many of his customers — who pay about $1,200 each to visit Chicago for three to four nights — have been confused, hurt and angry.
As a result, he figures his Toronto-based company will lose more than $270,000 in bookings to Chicago this year. He also has canceled tours to New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C.
“There hasn’t been anything like this,” Qanun says. “The borders are open. The businesses are open. But nobody wants to go because they are afraid of what will happen if they go to the U.S.”
Several travel companies like Comfort Tour that regularly brings Canadians to the United States say business is down in light of Trump administration policies and comments. Their owners say they can’t estimate how long the downturn will last.
But they’re not the only ones affected. The lost business also is having an impact on Chicago companies and tourist attractions. Business operators and tourism officials say they worry about a drop in international tourism this summer.
Chicago got an estimated 52 million visitors in 2023, roughly three million more than in 2022, according to Choose Chicago, the tourism agency that gets public and private funding.
Those visitors to the city spent an estimated $19.2 billion, up 8% year over year. And tourism spending brought in $2.2 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to a Choose Chicago report last June.
An estimated 1.8 million international visitors came to Chicago in 2023, up from nearly 1 million the year before. The agency estimates that overnight-only visitors from Canada brought in 455,000 people in 2023, compared to 346,000 in 2022.
Hopleaf Bar in Andersonville says it imports more Canadian Prince Edward Island mussels than any business in Illinois and serves a variety of Canadian beers. In 2017, owner Michael Roper started a promotion to celebrate “Canada Day” after he grew frustrated by Trump’s rhetoric towards Canada.
“During the first Trump administration, he was railing against Canada, so I thought, ‘Most Americans don’t feel this way. We should do a little Canada promotion here in Chicago,’ ” Roper says.
So, on July 1, Canada’s Independence Day, Hopleaf dedicated the day to honoring Canada.
“It was packed,” he says of the bar. “There were people wearing Toronto Blue Jays jerseys and Montreal Canadiens jerseys. It was really fun.”
The bar has continued the event ever since.
“Chicago has a significant population of Canadian expats,” Roper says. “This has provided an opportunity for us to introduce our business to them. And some have become regular customers.”
He says it’s “very obvious that fewer tourists will be coming here from Canada and Europe” this year. But he’s planning anyway to host the Canada Day celebration in July.
Museums on watch
Rich Gamble, Choose Chicago’s interim president and chief executive officer, says changes in tariff policy by the Trump administration and other actions “have raised concerns about attracting international visitors.
“Like other cities, we are hearing that many international travelers, especially Canadians, are reconsidering plans to visit the United States due to federal trade policies and changes in sentiment,” Gamble says. “In response, we are working closely with our partners on the ground in Canada and in key markets around the world to send the message that Chicago remains a welcoming, bucket-list destination for all global visitors.”
An Art Institute of Chicago spokesperson says the museum is feeling the impact of Canadian tourists staying away.
“The Canadian market is an important international market for the Art Institute and represents about 15% of our international attendance,” the spokesperson says. “Tourism from Canada in 2025 is flat compared to 2024.”
Meghan Curran, the Shedd Aquarium’s chief operating officer, says the lakefront museum “continues to monitor international travel patterns closely, including changes in Canadian visitation.”
Alyssa Haslam, chief of staff for the Field Museum of Natural History, says that, “at the moment, our tourism from Canada is not prompting cause for concern, but, of course, we are always monitoring trends that may impact visitation so that we can adjust our expectations accordingly.”
‘51st state’
Even before his inauguration, Trump said Canada should become America’s “51st state” — referring to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” — and he has repeated the phrase during his presidency.
On March 12, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imports of Canada’s steel and aluminum. More recently, the president announced sweeping new tariffs on dozens of nations, including 25% tariffs on auto imports. Autos are Canada’s second-largest export. The industry employs 125,000 Canadians and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
Ontario-based Great Canadian Holidays & Coaches says its customers have canceled their Chicago trips because they’re angry at the Trump administration.
“The biggest thing that we’ve noticed is that, as soon as the tariff and particularly when that 51st state rhetoric started, all of our future bookings dried right up,” says Michelle Tupman, company vice president. “What feels unprecedented about this is the anger that we’re hearing from a lot of our clients. It’s less about whether they can’t travel. It’s that they don’t want to.”
Canada is the top source of international visitors to the United States, with 20.4 million visitors last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, which says the five most-visited states are California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and New York.
But the trade organization warned in February that tariffs could lead to a decline, saying a 10% drop in visits “could mean two million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses.”
Canada’s statistical agency reported that Canadian car trips to the United States in February fell 23% over a year earlier, and round-trip air travel was down 2.4%.
United Airlines chief executive officer Scott Kirby said during a March investors conference that the airline was reducing its U.S.-Canada capacity because of a drop in traffic. Air Canada and WestJet also have seen declining demand and recently announced plans to reduce capacity or trim routes.
Longtime Loop restaurant Miller’s Pub is a destination for many tourists. Co-owner Aris Gallios says most tourists come after Memorial Day weekend. But he’s already concerned that fewer will come.
“We fear that and are wondering if there will be a backlash,” Gallios says.
Arnaldo Rivera, chief administrative and equity officer for Navy Pier, says: “International tourism is a significant and growing contributor to the nearly nine million visitors we welcome to Navy Pier annually. We will continue to carefully monitor the situation.”
Sam Toia, executive director of the Illinois Restaurant Association, says: “A lot of Canadians come to Chicago, especially in the summer … A lot of hotels and restaurants live for the summer months, so this will definitely hurt the hospitality industry here.”
Robert Gomez, owner of Bar Sol at Navy Pier, says the prospect of a decline in tourism before the busy spring and summer travel season is “absolutely a concern.”
The restaurant recently completed a remodel, so Gomez says: “This could not come at a worse time. Now, I have to sweat it out and hope to stay open, much less recover my investment.”
