B.C. border crossings plummet over spring break as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ looms
It appears British Columbians found other locations to travel to for spring break this year.
According to border crossing data, on the first day of spring break in 2024, 10,117 vehicles crossed at the southbound Peace Arch border crossing into the U.S.
The following Monday, March 25, 2024, 10,555 vehicles crossed at the same entry point southbound.
On March 17, 2025, which was the first day of spring break in B.C. this year, only 3,343 vehicles crossed at the Peace Arch southbound.
On March 24, 2025, only 3,310 vehicles crossed into the U.S at the Peace Arch.
More U.S. tariffs are expected to land on Wednesday for U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day.”
Trump has promised a day when Americans will be free from reliance on foreign goods.
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The reciprocal tariffs will be in addition to the sweeping 25 per cent tariffs placed on Canada and Mexico at the start of March and the 25 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs earlier this month.
The “reciprocal” tariffs don’t name Canada or Mexico specifically but would apply to all of America’s trading partners with a broad range of trade measures. These tariffs, along with a tariff on all foreign-made vehicle imports into the United States, will go into effect Wednesday.
Over half of Canada’s food imports come from the United States, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables.
“The president will be addressing the decades of unfair trade practices that have ripped our country off and American workers off,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday in previewing Trump’s announcement, while declining to offer any further details.
Trump and his administration also appear to have different views on how broad the policy will be. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that “all countries” will face the new tariffs — at least at first — after his top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, suggested earlier this month they would focus on 10 to 15 countries with the worst trade imbalances.
A new set of tariffs would further rattle Canadian industries that rely on U.S. trade — particularly the auto sector, which is bracing for the return of blanket 25 per cent tariffs on Wednesday and a new 25 per cent levy on foreign-made vehicles and auto parts that begin a day later.
— With files from Uday Rana and Sean Boynton
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
