In September 2025, Canadian visitors to the US declined by 35% compared to last year. The steep drop is due to anger over political comments made throughout early 2025, including an insistence by the President of the United States that Canada could become the US’s 51st state.
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The results have been felt in the tourism industry.
While states like Florida have managed to hold onto some of their Canadian winterbirds, other states across the US have ramped up campaigns to encourage Canadians to visit the US, including Minnesota, Michigan, and cities like Las Vegas.
Louisiana has now joined the list.
And Billy Nungesser, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, has thrown his hat into the ring in an attempt to woo Canadian visitors to the state. His appeals have focused around the Grand Reveil Acadien, which is a festival that brings together Acadians from across North America to celebrate their shared heritage.
Acadians are a French settler group that has roots as far north as New Brunswick, Canada, and as far south as New Orleans, Louisiana.
Unfortunately, Canadians haven’t packed their bags to attend the 2025 Grand Reveil Acadien, which only happens every five years.
And Governor Nungesser hasn’t taken that lightly. According to the New Orleans tourism department, Canada is the city’s most important tourism market, but visitor numbers could drop by 15% for the whole year.
A brewing problem
Earlier in the year, New Orleans authorities were already prepping for dismal numbers when it comes to the Great White North. As mentioned above, the Canadian market is the most lucrative for the city by a long margin, and as early as April this year, tourism authorities across the state were ringing the alarm.
The absence of Canadian visitors spills over into other parts of Louisiana, too. For example, the Grand Reveil Acadien takes place in surrounding areas like Abbeville, Lafayette, Vermilionville, Thibodaux, and beyond.
A lack of visitors to New Orleans means that the surrounding areas also receive fewer tourists and, as a result, less revenue.
According to Nungesser in an interview with NPR, in reference to anger about President Trump’s comments, “They [Canadians] pretty much said they’re not coming back until he’s either out of office or he apologized.”
