For generations, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has welcomed Canadian visitors escaping winter for warmer weather, golf and relatively affordable extended stays. But during the city's annual Canadian-American Days celebration in March 2025, a normally uncomplicated tourism tradition unfolded against a much more difficult political backdrop.
President Donald Trump's escalating trade dispute with Canada and his repeated statements that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state had angered many Canadians. Some travelers said they were reconsidering or canceling U.S. trips, creating uncertainty for destinations such as Myrtle Beach that have cultivated Canadian visitors for decades.
A Long-Running Myrtle Beach Tradition Meets Political Tension
The 64th annual Canadian-American Days, commonly called Can-Am Days, ran from March 8 through March 16, 2025. The official 2025 festival guide described the event as a celebration of the area's longstanding relationship with Canadian visitors.
At the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce welcome center, organizers served Tim Hortons coffee and offered Canadian-themed refreshments and South Carolina-Canada lapel pins. The welcoming atmosphere reflected a relationship that predates the day's political disagreements.
Can-Am Days traces its roots to the early 1960s and traditionally fills a quieter period between winter and the peak summer tourism season. Canadians have long traveled south for extended stays, golf, entertainment and the Grand Strand's beaches.
In previous decades, the seasonal influx was particularly important to local businesses. Myrtle Beach's year-round population and tourism economy have grown considerably since then. Former city councilman Wayne Gray pointed to Horry County's rapidly growing population and the expansion of youth sports tournaments, events and other tourism markets as reasons Canadian visitors now represent a smaller share of the region's overall economy.
Why U.S.-Canada Relations Were Strained
The unusual atmosphere in Myrtle Beach reflected a broader deterioration in U.S.-Canada relations during the opening months of Trump's second presidency.
Trump repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. Canadian officials rejected the idea, and the comments generated considerable public criticism in Canada. The president also moved ahead with tariffs on Canadian imports as part of a wider trade dispute.
On March 4, 2025, additional U.S. tariffs took effect on many goods imported from Canada. Two days later, Trump modified the policy. Under a March 6 presidential action, goods qualifying for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement were exempted from the additional duties beginning March 7, while certain Canadian energy products and potash remained subject to lower additional rates.
The changing tariff rules added to a period of economic and political uncertainty between two countries with deeply integrated economies and one of the world's largest bilateral travel relationships.
Some Canadians Changed Their Travel Plans
Several Canadians interviewed in Myrtle Beach or contacted around the time of Can-Am Days said Trump's policies and rhetoric were affecting their decisions about visiting the United States.
Amy Gleiser, an Ontario hospital employee, said her family decided to travel to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula rather than return to Myrtle Beach, even though the change meant losing a deposit. She characterized Trump's approach to Canada as "bullying."
Patricia Cape, a retired pharmacy employee from Hamilton, Ontario, said family members had encouraged her and her husband to shorten their U.S. stay. She said she remained fond of the United States but was disappointed by the deterioration in the relationship between the countries.
Arthur and Kathy Jadischke of Mississauga, Ontario, also said they were leaving earlier than originally planned. Arthur Jadischke said the political climate had made him uncertain about returning.
Others continued their vacations despite their objections to the president's policies. Several Canadians said their interactions with Myrtle Beach residents remained friendly and that they had not personally encountered hostility from Trump supporters.
That distinction was also emphasized locally. Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune acknowledged the tension between the two countries while telling Canadian visitors that the city would continue welcoming them with what she described as Southern hospitality.
A Canadian Band Pulled Out
The political dispute had at least one visible effect on the Can-Am program. The Burlington Teen Tour Band of Ontario canceled its planned participation in Myrtle Beach.
The cancellation stood out because Canadian-American Days had traditionally focused on cultural exchange and tourism rather than national politics.
Canadian Tourism Is Economically Significant
The uncertainty extended well beyond Myrtle Beach. Canada has historically been one of the largest sources of international visitors to the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Travel and Tourism Office, approximately 20.5 million Canadian travelers visited the United States in 2023 and spent about $24 billion. That made changes in Canadian travel behavior potentially significant for tourism-dependent communities across the country.
At the time of the March 2025 Can-Am festivities, however, Myrtle Beach tourism officials cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from anecdotes alone. Canadian license plates could still be seen around the area, and dozens of Canadian visitors attended the opening reception.
Local businesses also reported mixed experiences. Some said they had not yet observed a meaningful decline, while property owners and tourism operators expressed concern about cancellations and weaker future bookings.
A New Registration Rule Added Another Concern
Long-stay Canadian visitors were also watching a separate immigration-related change.
U.S. law has long contained registration requirements for certain foreign nationals staying in the country for 30 days or longer. In 2025, the Trump administration moved to more actively enforce those provisions and created a new registration process.
A Department of Homeland Security rule published in March 2025 designated Form G-325R as a way for people who had not otherwise registered to comply with the law. The rule took effect April 11, 2025.
The requirement did not mean that every Canadian visitor automatically had to file the new form. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services explains that many foreign nationals are already considered registered through visas, Form I-94 records or other immigration documents. Canadians entering without such documentation and remaining for 30 days or longer could be among those required to register. USCIS also states that Canadian visitors who must use the new process are generally exempt from fingerprinting.
The USCIS alien-registration guidance provides the current rules and a tool for determining whether an individual must register.
Later Data Showed a Broader Drop in Canadian U.S. Travel
Although it was too early during Can-Am Days to determine how large any tourism boycott would become, later official statistics showed that Canadian travel to the United States did decline substantially in 2025.
Statistics Canada reported that Canadian residents made about 6.1 million trips involving visits to the United States during the first quarter of 2025, down 10.8% from the same period a year earlier. In March alone, Canadian residents returned from about 2.7 million U.S. trips, a 24% year-over-year decrease.
Full-year data later showed an even clearer shift. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents made approximately 23.1 million visits to the United States in 2025, down 23.5% from 2024. At the same time, Canadian visits to overseas countries increased.
Those national figures document a major change in travel patterns, although they do not by themselves establish how much of the decline was caused by political tensions, exchange rates, economic conditions, travel preferences or other factors.
Myrtle Beach Continued to Welcome Canadians
Despite the political dispute, Myrtle Beach officials and tourism organizations continued promoting the destination to Canadians. The city's tourism organization maintains information specifically for Canadian travelers and has continued the Can-Am Days tradition.
For residents and returning snowbirds, the events of 2025 demonstrated how a dispute between national governments could reach a community far from Washington or Ottawa. Political attitudes changed some travel plans, and later statistics confirmed that Canadian travel to the United States fell significantly during the year. But on the ground in Myrtle Beach, the personal relationship between local hosts and Canadian visitors largely remained intact.
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