B.C. residents spending less in the U.S. by an ‘astonishing’ amount: report

A new report says British Columbians are changing their habits when it comes to spending money in the U.S. or with U.S.-based companies.

The report from Vancity used data from enviro Visa spending patterns, which showed a “significant drop” compared to the same period last year.

The credit union found that these findings reflect caution among consumers and an early sign of changing priorities.

In-person spending in Washington state declined 47 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, according to the report and online spending at U.S.-based retailers fell 14 per cent with clothing purchases showing the sharpest drop — down 26 per cent.

Online bookings for U.S. hotels and cruises also fell by 28 per cent.

However, Vancity said the total value of Mexican peso wire transfers from Vancity members nearly quadrupled but there was no rise in the number of wires, which could suggest an increase in high-value purchases, such as vacation properties.

“These numbers show a behavioural shift in how members are spending their money this year,” Wellington Holbrook, Vancity’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

“Whether it’s cross-border shopping or U.S. travel, we’re seeing a notable change as people are being more deliberate with their spending, and in many cases, looking closer to home.”

In an interview with Global News, Holbrook said these numbers are “astonishing.”

“When we hear that Canadians aren’t spending in the U.S. they’re really meaning it.”

The most recent numbers from Statistics Canada show that cross-border travel by British Columbians was down 52 per cent in May, compared to May 2014.

Holbrook said the data also showed people are spending the same amount of money but it is being spent at local businesses or local merchants.

“When the trading relationship normalizes, maybe some of the emotion falls out of it, but I would expect to see a rebound, but from this level of significance, it’s hard to see it come all the way back anytime soon,” he added.

“Thirty-three per cent, that’s one out of every three dollars that was being spent in the U.S. has disappeared. I don’t imagine it coming back in a matter of months.”

Holbrook added that based on the data it did appear that the peak drop happened in April.

Transaction data was collected on all personal Vancity Visa purchases from January 1, 2023 to June 1, 2025. Vancity has 600,000 members, although not all of them have a Visa card.

Participating merchants disclose the country in which the transaction occurs, and any merchant with a location in the U.S. was defined as ‘U.S.-based’. Merchant category codes were further grouped into categories to observe trends.

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.