While President Donald Trump eventually dialed down his rhetoric of calling Canada “the 51st state” and then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the “governor,” Canadian travel has been down for nearly a year as Canadians choose to eschew trips to the U.S.
The reports from Statistics Canada released every month show that the number of Canadians coming home from trips to the U.S. is down by nearly 30% from last fall, while airlines such as Air Canada and WestJet scaled down their flight schedules to smaller U.S. cities amid drastically decreased demand.
Both California Governor Gavin Newsom and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley have tried to distance themselves from the current administration through ad campaigns aimed at bringing back miffed Canadians. Since the latter city relies primarily on tourism, it was hit particularly hard by the dropoff in Canadian and Mexican visitors in 2025.
American Airlines to cut popular New York-Toronto route by May 2026
Despite a codeshare partnership with Canadian airline Porter Airlines that it secured earlier this year, “big three” airline American Airlines is now the latest carrier to cut a flight between New York’s JFK and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
The Dallas-based airline launched the route in January 2023 amid the rise in post-pandemic travel. It ran year-round up to twice a day during peak periods on an Embraer E175.
Related: The mayor of Las Vegas is begging Canadians to come back
After flying between the two cities for the first half of 2026, American will run the route for the last time on May 20.
While both Air Canada and Delta Air Lines fly between JFK and Pearson, the axing of this route means that American Airlines will no longer serve Toronto from this airport, leaving the U.S.-Canada route with the highest travel numbers to its competitors.
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“If your flight is significantly disrupted and you decline our rebooking offers”
The slow phaseout means that most will not have bought tickets yet and will be able to plan their travel accordingly before the route gets cut. Still, the American Airlines website states that anyone affected by a “cancellation or significant change to [the] trip” made by the airline, rather than the traveler, can request a refund from the carrier should their fare class not allow them to initiate it independently online.
“U.S. Department of Transportation rules allow you to get a refund if your flight is significantly disrupted and you decline our rebooking offers, even if you bought a non-refundable ticket,” American Airlines writes of the policy.
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Along with canceling the Toronto route, American Airlines is also phasing out a flight between Philadelphia International (PHL) and Hilton Head Airport (HHH) in South Carolina by July 2026, while adding a very short 45-minute flight between Boston Logan (BOS) and Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) on June 18.
The seasonal route meant to serve Cape Cod summer travelers will run on the Embraer E175 redirected from the axed Toronto flight. American Airlines did not immediately elaborate on the reasons for the route changes, which were first spotted by aviation watchdogs.
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