Good morning. From boycotts to fuel shortages, the global tourism landscape has been upended over the past year. We crunched the numbers and mapped out just how much travel has changed, and what Canadians can expect during the summer months ahead (hint: it may be one of the most turbulent travel seasons yet).
More on that below, along with a major blow to Canada’s auto sector, even as electric-vehicle sales rise domestically. But first:
Up first
In the news
Power plans: Ottawa says it has begun stakeholder consultations on a strategy to double the size of the country’s electricity grid by 2050.
Quantum race: Nord Quantique Inc. is the fourth Canadian-founded quantum computing startup to reach a valuation of more than $1-billion. The Quebec-based developer quietly raised $30-million in March, valuing the company at US$1.4-billion, sources told The Globe.
Drone warfare: Latvia’s government collapsed after an incursion by Ukrainian drones that a NATO think tank director believes likely were being controlled by AI – and may have autonomously chosen their target.
The tourism industry has been upended by geopolitical change. How are Canadians spending their travel dollars?Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
In focus
I’m Mariya Postelnyak, The Globe’s consumer affairs reporter.
We’ve been talking about travel a lot this past year. Tensions with the United States, cancelled Cuban getaways and jet fuel surcharges from the war in the Middle East have disrupted Canadians’ usual travel plans.
You may be stumped on where to take a holiday this summer while trying to keep shifting geopolitical and financial concerns straight.
My colleague Jason Kirby and I decided to pick up the pieces of a fractured global tourism economy and map out the bigger picture. Our story outlines the domino effects from geopolitical turmoil across the travel landscape.
We discovered some surprising data. For example, tourists from Mexico are cushioning the blow from Canada’s U.S. travel boycott, gas prices are making it hard to staycation and Las Vegas lost more than 221,000 Canadian flight seats.
Here are some of the highlights from our reporting:
High gasoline prices are making it tougher to travel abroad and at home
In late April, jet fuel prices around the world were a whopping 105 per cent higher than a year earlier. These spikes, combined with an ever-shrinking pool of global travel destinations not affected by conflict of one sort or another, have sent airfares soaring.
Lisbon and London saw some of the biggest spikes internationally, while at home, Vancouver and even Manitoba saw surges as high as 55 per cent within the past two months.
Airlines are continuing to slash flight capacity to the U.S.
Las Vegas saw some of the biggest cuts to flight capacity from Canada to the U.S. as patriotic sentiment brought down U.S. travel demand. The city known for Elvis impersonators and hasty marriages saw more than 221,000 seats slashed.
That’s a pretty big deal considering Canadians make up the largest proportion of foreign visitors to Sin City.
Fuel prices, wars and trade turmoil have people cancelling trips
The outbreak of the war in Iran sent consumer sentiment tumbling, according to Nanos Research. In fact, about 21 per cent of Canadians have already cancelled or postponed trips as a result of higher travel costs, Bank of Canada data showed.
The U.S. is trying to woo back Canadians, even as visitors from elsewhere flock to the country
The drop-off in Canadian visitors to the U.S. has in large part been offset by increases in travellers from other countries. Among the most surprising: Mexico.
Immigration crackdowns targeted at Latinos notwithstanding, the number of residents from the coastal country flocking to the U.S. is seeing a multiyear increase.
But that’s not to say our absence in the U.S. isn’t missed, especially across border states.
Here are just a few ways our southern neighbours have rolled out the charm offensive:
- California offered 25 per cent off hotels and attractions for visitors from the north, even as Canadian trips to the Golden State fell as much as 38 per cent in the months that followed the launch of that campaign in May, 2025.
- Walt Disney World introduced deals targeting Canadian residents with discounts of up to 30 per cent on tickets and hotels.
- Resorts across Arizona launched a “Northern Neighbours Offer” with 30-per-cent discounts on rooms.
- Maine’s efforts have included “Welcome Canadians” signs across the state.
While the U.S. gets entangled in more global conflicts and the pool of travel options shrinks, Canadians may be lured back to the southern border yet. But for now, we’re all in for a bumpy ride.
Charted
Sales jolt
Honda has officially shelved its plans for an electric-vehicle complex in Alliston, Ont., citing changes in consumer demand. But in Canada, sales of EVs have surged 75 per cent since last year, after Ottawa renewed buyer incentives and high fuel prices sent drivers looking for alternatives to gas cars.
Quoted
I’m not sure we would’ve had The Fast and the Furious in competition, but it is a phenomenon in the contemporary history of the cinema
— Thierry Frémaux, Cannes Film Festival general delegate
Vin Diesel and his Fast & Furious family were in the spotlight at the Cannes Film Festival with a screening and a standing ovation to mark the 25th anniversary of the blockbuster franchise’s first instalment. Altogether, the 11 Fast movies have generated US$7.3-billion at the box office.
Up next
More files we’re following
Construction: Canadian housing starts for the month of April are expected at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Carbon: Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Calgary for a carbon-pricing announcement with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. It’s one more step toward a new oil pipeline, which Carney says Ottawa will only support if a carbon-capture project goes ahead.
Cottage: Own a cottage? Read up on the tax tips and traps you should know about.
Morning update
Global stocks tumbled as a deadlock in U.S.-Iran negotiations dented risk appetite and inflation fears lifted expectations of interest rate hikes this year.
Wall Street futures were in negative territory, while TSX futures followed sentiment lower.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 1.16 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.29 per cent, Germany’s DAX slid 1.39 per cent and France’s CAC 40 declined 1.24 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.99 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.62 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.76 U.S. cents.