Canadian travel boycott hits Las Vegas casinos, workers and Nevada's close governor race

Summary

Canadian visits to Las Vegas fell 17.4% in 2025, helping drive a 7.5% citywide drop that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says is the steepest non-pandemic decline since records began in 1970. Airport data compiled by CBC News shows Canadian airlines bringing even fewer visitors in 2026, and downtown hotels were barely half full in August. Casino executives have started admitting the damage, with MGM's Bill Hornbuckle telling Donald Trump in the Oval Office that the industry needs his help.

Winnipeg resident Martin Daly, a longtime annual visitor, has stayed away since Trump began threatening Canada's sovereignty and piling on tariffs. Casinos now send him offers for free nights, and some accept the Canadian dollar at par. The Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, represents about 60,000 Nevada workers, and shift cuts are spreading across the state.

Canada has also become an election issue in Nevada. Democrats are tying missing Canadians to Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, whose race is now close, and UNLV political scientist David Deore says the races probably wouldn't be as close without tariffs and fewer Canadians. Visits from Mexico, also in a tariff dispute, are up slightly, which the video argues points to the 51st-state talk as the real difference.

Key points

• Canadian visits to Las Vegas fell 17.4% in 2025.
• Citywide visitation dropped 7.5%, the steepest non-pandemic decline since records began in 1970.
• Downtown Las Vegas hotels were barely half full in August 2026.
• Culinary Workers Union Local 226 represents about 60,000 Nevada workers.
• Visits from Mexico are up slightly, despite its own tariff dispute with Washington.
• The Golden Knights failed to sell out a game for the first time in nine years.

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