The official numbers aren’t in yet, but there’s a strong vibe that 2025 was a down year for Canadian tourism in La Conner.
Nor is the town alone on that score.
Many U.S. communities along the nation’s border with Canada suffered a decline in revenue from Canadian tourism last year. Studies indicate there were between 20–27% fewer Canadian passenger vehicles crossing into the U.S. between January and October of 2025, a trend that negatively impacted American businesses.
The downturn has been variously attributed to general economic insecurity, political fallout from Trump administration tariffs on Canadian imports and the president’s proposal early last year to annex Canada as the 51st state.
Whatever the cause, the decrease in Canadian traffic here was noticeable.
La Conner Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst began researching annual Canadian tourism data Monday afternoon, but pretty much knew what he’d find before taking that deep dive.
“It was down during tulips and into the summer,” he said. “Then it rebounded some in the fall, but not to anywhere near what it’s been in the past.”
Hulst, on several occasions last year, surveyed La Conner parking areas for vehicles bearing British Columbia license plates. There never seemed as many as in previous peak tourist seasons.
Chris Jennings of Jennings Yarn & Needlecrafts, which has been part of the La Conner business scene for more than a half-century, noted similar anecdotal evidence.
“It (Canadian tourism) was definitely down during tulips and that continued through the summer,” she said. “I can’t give you any detailed data, but I can tell you that international travel, as a whole, was also down.
“We have Canadians who come into the store and when they do, we’ll chat. They’ll say that Canadians aren’t coming down as much due to political reasons.”
Hulst is guardedly optimistic that in 2026, sports will trump politics. He is hopeful La Conner will benefit from soccer fans visiting town between World Cup matches in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
It’s not clear if there was a significant decrease in Canadian boat traffic and moorage here in 2025.
“We don’t keep track of where our guests come from,” said Charlie Knapp, harbormaster at the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina. “But our overall numbers were down 15-20% at the start of last year.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
