Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey posted an Instagram video urging Canadians to come visit his city and saying he “misses” them.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey posted an Instagram video addressing Canadians, saying “Hey, Canadians, we like you guys, we miss you, we don’t think of you as the 51st state,” and telling them to come see Minneapolis.
Frey said he understood both countries had been dealing with “unreasonable stuff,” and added, “We could talk about that when you come to visit us.”
The post comes as Canadian travel to the United States has declined, with Statistics Canada data showing that in 2025 Canadian residents made 23.1 million trips to the U.S., down 23.5 per cent from 2024 and 26.7 per cent from 2019.
Statistics Canada data in the provided text also show that leisure and vacation trips fell 21.5 per cent year over year, while trips to overseas destinations increased 10.2 per cent.
In the video, Frey pitched Minneapolis as a fall getaway and said, “We can visit some of the best restaurants in the world.” The provided text notes that Minneapolis does not have Michelin-starred restaurants, while describing the city as having a sizeable theatre scene and parkland, including that 98 per cent of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Frey also said there is no sales tax in Minnesota on shoes and clothing, and closed by telling Canadians, “We can have each other’s company,” adding, “I can’t wait to see you when you visit our city.”
Some users responded critically to the Instagram post in the provided text, including comments saying a visitor from Canada would not go to the U.S. and that the outreach was intended to benefit the U.S. economy.
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