Florida recorded an estimated 1.68 million Canadian visitors in the first half of 2026, down 13.9% year on year, amid worsening trade tensions between the United States and Canada. The decline matters because Canada has traditionally been a major source of visitors for Florida, particularly during winter, and the fall may affect the state’s tourism industry.

The article links the downturn to tariffs, retaliatory measures and increasingly strained rhetoric between the two countries, including US federal use of “Lake America” for Lake Ontario. Florida received about 270,000 fewer Canadian visitors than a year earlier and roughly 610,000 fewer than in the first half of 2019; overall visitor numbers fell 1.4% to 73.5 million. Canada plans tariffs on about US$27.6 billion of American goods from 8 September, while the US has imposed or threatened further tariffs on Canadian products and vehicles.