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Why Arizona could soon see an influx of Canadians

Starting April 1, 2022, the Canadian government no longer required fully-vaccinated travelers to be COVID-tested before re-entering the country. As a result, Glenn Williamson with the Canada Arizona Business Council thinks we could see more visitors. On Tuesday, he addressed the Maricopa Association of Government’s economic development committee.

“Now remember that we’re sitting with 37 million Canadians to the north of us and we only historically have gotten about a million of those from a tourism point of view. We have been looking for an inflection point and we believe that this inflection point may have just occurred,” Williamson said.

Next month, Air Canada will start offering year-round flights from Phoenix  to Montreal. Before the pandemic, flights catered to snowbirds. 

Williamson said there’s been a trend of Canadians selling their winter homes in Arizona for "extra high prices" and renting instead.

As a senior field correspondent, Christina Estes focuses on stories that impact our economy, your wallet and public policy.