U.S.-bound traffic at Windsor-Detroit tunnel sees slight dip amid tariff uncertainty

Windsor-Detroit Tunnel in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

Traffic through the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel has seen a slight decline amid tariff tensions, but tunnel officials say the impact has been relatively modest compared to other border crossings.

Traffic dropped six per cent in February and three per cent so far in March, with the most significant declines occurring in late afternoon and weekend crossings.

While essential travel, such as daily commutes for work, has remained steady, discretionary trips appear to be taking a hit.

“We monitor traffic on an hour-by-hour basis, and our morning hours are pretty similar to last year,” said Windsor-Detroit Tunnel CEO Tal Czudner.

“The drop is mostly in late afternoon and weekend traffic — weekend especially.”

The decline comes as Canadians reevaluate their spending and travel habits amid ongoing tariff tensions.

A recent survey by research firm Leger found that 68 per cent of Canadians have cut back on purchases of American products in stores, and 59 per cent say they’re less likely to visit the U.S. this year compared to 2024.

Among those who had planned to visit, 36 per cent reported already cancelling their trips.

Czudner said the tunnel is somewhat insulated from sharper declines, as many of its regular travelers rely on it for work or essential trips rather than leisure trips.

Other border crossings have seen steeper declines.

“They are significantly showing less volume than we are,” Czudner said.

“They’re in the double digits: 10, 12, 14, 16 per cent.”

At the same time, Czudner noted an uptick in Americans crossing into Canada.

“There’s a few more Americans that are coming over here to spend some money locally,” he said.

“We’ve had a pretty good relationship for about 150 years, and I think a lot of Americans still feel pretty comfortable coming here — maybe even apologetic for some of the things that are happening.”

Despite shifting travel patterns, Czudner remains hopeful that tensions will eventually ease.

“Honestly, the politicians can figure this stuff out,” he said.

“We’re just regular people going about our jobs, and mostly people are going about their business.

“We hope that the tariff challenges will be straightened out soon.”