For the third straight month, Sault Ste. Marie border crossings are on the decline — with newly released data for April showing over a third less traffic at the international border compared to last year.
As the trade war continues with the U.S., along with President Donald Trump’s repeated ‘51st state’ rhetoric towards Canada, the most recent data furthers a burgeoning trend that has seen border traffic drop by greater and greater proportions since February — the first full month after Trump took office.
In February, there were 59,625 total vehicle crossings — a drop of 13.5 per cent compared with 2024 — and in March there were 56,441 crossings, for a year-over-year drop of 29.9 per cent.
This April, those numbers dropped further still, with 50,937 total vehicle crossings — a staggering drop of 35.5 per cent compared with April 2024.
Overall, traffic has plummeted 19.6 per cent so far in 2025 compared with the same timeframe last year.
Traffic among all categories dropped over the course of April — including a 9.7 per cent drop in commercial trucks — but the hardest hit category was full-fare passenger cars, which fell by 44.1 per cent compared to April last year.
Across the river, the impacts of dwindling cross-border traffic are beginning to be felt in Michigan.
“What I worry about is the businesses,” said Linda Hoath, executive director at the Sault Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Everybody's worried about it, but we have no projections on what it's going to do.”
Hoath said she’s heard concerns from a variety of businesses about what decreased border traffic could mean for Sault, Michigan.
“The businesses I've talked to have concerns because we're so close … to cross the border to us is nothing. It's a part of life.
“It's pretty important that we have that cross-border (travel).”
Though Hoath hopes to see more Canadians support businesses in Sault, Michigan, she also sympathized with why many are opting not to travel stateside.
“I totally understand where they're at,” she said. “I know how they feel, and we're feeling the same way, you know — that we can't believe what is happening.
“We want all of us to feel comfortable going both ways.”
