Before tensions surfaced between the U.S. and Canada, there was already a little friction between Bellingham and Vancouver residents at the B.C. border over the traffic that visitors would add.
We’ve shared countless stories about how Bellingham residents were annoyed or irked by Vancouver visitors, hoarding all the milk and gasoline, taking up parking spots at places like Costco and Trader Joe’s, and sucking at driving.
Visitors from Canada were also perceived to be entitled.
However, some Bellinghamsters feel mournful after a massive drop in traffic and believe it or not, some even say they miss seeing the traffic at places like the Bellingham Costco.
Even some Seattle restaurants are apologizing to Canadian visitors and offering them discounts. Someone on the Bellingham subreddit shared a hilarious meme earlier this week, inspired by Titanic, to describe how they feel.
We’re sorry for all the things we said when times were good…
byu/WelcomeToWhatcom inBellingham
“Costco was so empty today,” one Bellinghamster wrote in the comments.
Another resident responded, “I miss their traffic on some days.”
One other hilarious comment had someone mention that they were able to go to Trader Joe’s with a sad face emoji.
Someone else said, “But congrats on a sane election result!”
How much has traffic dropped?
Earlier this month, we reported that in February 2025, daily southbound traffic was around 3,500 vehicles a day, down from around 5,000 in February 2024. In March 2025, compared to last year, the number of folks who crossed over into Washington from B.C. was almost halved.
The drop in vehicle traffic from B.C. to Bellingham for tourism purposes was over 30 per cent lower this February than last.
All of this reveals how connected the Washington town of Bellingham and others are to British Columbia.
Business owners are among those who definitely miss the traffic from the north.
Many Washington residents have voiced their staunch opposition to the current American administration. Just today, a massive anti-Trump protest with hundreds of participants took place in downtown Bellingham.
Canadians aren’t so high on Americans right now
While there has been an outpouring of support from Americans for Canada, the same can’t be said for Canadians, according to a recent survey by ResearchCo.
“In the online survey of a representative national sample, only 26 per cent of Canadians have a positive opinion of the United States, down 28 points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in July 2024.”
ResearchCo says that Canada views only three other countries more poorly: Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“For the first time since January 2019, fewer than a third of Canadians hold a positive opinion of the United States,” says Mario Canseco, president of Research Co.
“The previous low was 32 per cent in July 2020, while the previous high was 64 per cent in February 2024.”
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