Several conferences relocate north of the border as Canadians refuse
to travel to the U.S.
Sophia Harris
| CBC News | Posted: May 12, 2025 8:00 AM | Last Updated: May
12
Conference organizers say they made changes after members
expressed concerns over U.S. travel
Image | FONOM 2025
Caption: CBC News has identified several North American-based
organizations that have relocated upcoming conferences, either
partially or fully, from the U.S. to Canada. (Orphée
Moussongo/Radio-Canada)
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After U.S. President Donald Trump took office, sociologist
Travers — who goes by one name — nixed plans to attend the
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS)
conference in Seattle this November.
Travers, a full professor at Simon Fraser University in
Burnaby, B.C., is the president-elect of NASSS. But as a trans
person, they are wary of visiting the U.S. at a time when the
Trump administration is rolling back transgender rights.
"[I] will not be travelling to the United States right now
because it feels very dangerous to do so," said Travers.
The sociologist soon realized the problem was widespread:
around 40 per cent of NASSS's 600 members live in Canada, and
many of them reported that they, too, don't want to attend the
Seattle conference, due to reports of increased scrutiny at the
U.S. border, Trump's trade war and his threats to annex Canada.
"If we were to just hold the conference in Seattle, it would be
significantly under-attended," Travers said of the annual
conference, where NASSS members meet and share research about
the sociological study of sport.
Because breaking the venue contract would be cost-prohibitive,
organizers came up with a creative solution: a pared-down
Seattle conference with an added tandem one in Vancouver. Some
events will take place in both locations, courtesy video
conferencing.
Image | SFU Professor Travers Vancouver
Caption: Travers, a full professor at Simon Fraser University
in Burnaby, B.C., helped relocate part of a Seattle-based
conference to Vancouver to accommodate Canadian participants
who didn't want to travel to the U.S. (Mike Zimmerman/CBC)
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"I have certainly heard back from many NASSS members who said,
'Thank you, thank you. I was afraid to go to the United
States,'" said Travers.
NASSS isn't alone in changing its conference plans since Trump
took office. CBC News has also identified several other North
American-based organizations which recently relocated their
entire upcoming conferences from the U.S. to Canada.
In another case, organizers outright chose Canada, knowing many
of its Canadian participants won't go to the U.S. right now.
Travel to the U.S. from several countries has dropped recently,
with Canada leading the pack: in April, the number of return
trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. plummeted by 19.9
per cent for air travel, and by a jarring 35.2 per cent for
land travel. This is the biggest decline yet since Trump was
re-elected as president.
Professor interrogated at U.S. customs
While the low Canadian dollar has deterred some travellers, the
political climate in the U.S. and Trump's hardline crackdown on
immigration has fuelled much of the decline.
"After Trump was voted in office, I know that my members have
very little interest in attending a conference in the U.S.,"
said Dr. Jason Karamchandani, president of the Canadian
Association of Pathologists (CAP).
So organizers for a 2026 joint conference between CAP and the
American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) chose a Montreal
venue — even though the American group has six times more
members.
* Canadian university teachers warned against travelling to
the United States
* Canadian travel to the U.S. has plummeted. One reason why:
fear
"There have been stories of people facing challenges entering
the United States," said Karamchandani.
Those stories include the 11-day detainment of Canadian Jasmine
Mooney in March, and a French scientist who was denied entry
that same month, because U.S. customs officers found anti-Trump
messages on his phone, according to the French government.
Sociologist and NASSS member Nathan Kalman-Lamb also had an
incident at U.S. customs in March at Montreal's Trudeau
International Airport, as he was heading to a conference at the
University of South Carolina.
The Canadian citizen says despite having all the right
documentation, including an invitation from the university, a
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer interrogated
him and searched his possessions, including his phone and
wallet.
Image | Nathan Kalman-Lamb University of News Brunswick
professor
Caption: University of New Brunswick sociology professor Nathan
Kalman-Lamb says he's thrilled the North American Society for
the Sociology of Sport has added a second conference in
Vancouver along with the Seattle venue because he's sworn off
travel to the U.S. right now. (Mikael Mayer/CBC)
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"To be subject to these kind of searches and the seemingly
arbitrary authority of basically police officers in these
spaces, it's beyond disquieting. It's frightening," said
Kalman-Lamb, an assistant professor at the University of New
Brunswick.
Three hours later, he said, the officer allowed him to continue
on his journey. However, by this time, he had missed his flight
and had to rebook it. He said no one explained why he had been
targeted, so he's sworn off U.S. travel for now.
"I don't even think for research I can justify at this point
taking the risk of travelling to the United States," he said.
Kalman-Lamb said he was thrilled when he learned he won't miss
the upcoming NASSS conference, which he will now attend in
Vancouver.
U.S. CBP spokesperson Jessica Turner told CBC News in an email
that all travellers are subject to inspection upon entry. She
also said Trump's border crackdown is designed to protect the
country and that "lawful travellers have nothing to fear from
these measures."
Conferences pull the plug on U.S. venues
Despite CBP's reassurances, some conferences that already
booked a U.S. location have decided to scrap the venues
entirely.
Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN), an association for
work-family scholars, announced in April it has relocated its
2026 biennial conference from Boston to Montreal. The
conference typically attracts 400 to 500 participants from
across the globe.
WATCH | Conferences relocate to Canada:
Media Video | The National : Conferences relocating to Canada
over harsh new U.S. border measures
Caption: As Canadian travel to the U.S. continues to drop, CBC
News has found several professional conferences relocated to
Canada to avoid harsh new U.S. border security measures. One
sociologist describes being grilled by U.S. customs officers
who searched his phone and wallet.
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The association told CBC News it decided to change locations
after hearing from members, including Canadians, who expressed
concerns about travelling to the U.S.
"This was very troubling for our international organization,
with approximately 40 per cent of our members residing outside
of the United States," said WFRN president Jennifer Hook in a
statement.
The International Society for the Research on Aggression (ISRA)
provided a similar explanation to members about why it moved
its 2026 conference from New Jersey to St. Catharines, Ont.:
"It would be untenable to hold the meeting in the USA" due to
"changed patterns of international travel for scholars," the
society wrote in an email seen by CBC News.
* Canadians required to register with U.S. government if in
country at least 30 days
The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is
relocating its 2025 Canadian Employee Benefits Conference from
San Diego to Canada. The exact dates and location have yet to
be announced.
The foundation, an educational organization for the employee
benefits industry, declined to comment. But a statement posted
online last month suggests the conference, which hosts up to
1,500 Canadians, was moved due to travel concerns.
"We believe this move will enable us to educate more
attendees," said the statement.
If conference organizers continue to choose Canada over U.S.
venues, it could be a boon for the Canadian economy, says
non-profit conference manager Heather Dow, who has organized
more than 100 conferences and events since 2012.
"If you think of a conference that might have 300 participants,
that could be a boost into the economy of $500,000-$600,000 or
more," said Dow, senior manager with Events & Management Plus
in Kingston, Ont.
"I think this is a great opportunity for Canada."
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