Canadian travel to the U.S. has plummeted. One reason why: fear [Video]

When political science professor Arash Abizadeh heard last month about foreign travellers being detained at the U.S. border, he cancelled plans to speak at an upcoming academic conference in Durham, N.C.

He believes heightened scrutiny at the U.S. border makes travel to the country too uncertain. 

“Why would we subject ourselves to this?” asked Abizadeh, who teaches at McGill University in Montreal. 

“We can say to ourselves, ‘Well, I haven’t done anything wrong,’ but then you have to ask yourself questions like … ‘Have I said anything on social media that the current regime might find critical of them?’ “

Abizadeh joins a growing number of Canadians cancelling plans to visit the United States.

The number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. in March plummetedcompared to the previous year: down by 13.5 per cent for air travel, and down by a whopping 32 per cent for land …