As the snow begins to drift across Toronto, something else is drifting too—Canadian marketers away from U.S. business conferences. The once-predictable exodus of marketing professionals heading south for industry events has slowed to a trickle, creating ripple effects across both sides of the border.
“We used to block off our calendars every January for CES, March for SXSW, and October for AdWeek,” explains Mira Patel, Chief Marketing Officer at Maple Media Group. “Now those trips are being replaced by virtual attendance or domestic alternatives. The calculus has completely changed.”
This shift reflects more than just post-pandemic workplace evolution. Multiple forces have converged to transform how Canadian marketing talent engages with the industry’s traditional American gathering points.
The numbers tell a compelling story. According to recent Statistics Canada data, business travel from Canada to the United States dropped 37% in 2023 compared to 2019 levels, with marketing professionals representing one of the steepest declines. Meanwhile, attendance at Toronto’s Strategy Summit jumped 42% year-over-year, while Vancouver’s Digital Marketing North has expanded to three days due to overwhelming demand.
The financial math simply doesn’t add up for many agencies and marketing departments. With the Canadian dollar hovering around 74 cents USD, a three-day conference trip to New York or San Francisco can easily exceed $5,000 per person when factoring in registration fees, flights, accommodations, and meals. The exchange rate effectively adds a 35% premium to every transaction.
“We’ve implemented a ‘4X rule’ for international business travel,” says Devon Williams, Operations Director at Borealis Digital, a mid-sized Toronto agency. “The expected value needs to be at least four times the cost for us to approve it. Very few U.S. conferences meet that threshold anymore.”
Beyond economics, the quality gap between domestic and international marketing events has narrowed significantly. Canadian conferences have matured, attracting global speakers who previously might have only appeared at U.S. events. This evolution has removed a key incentive for cross-border travel.
Caroline Zhang, who founded MarTech Toronto in 2021, has witnessed this transformation firsthand. “Five years ago, you had to go to the States to hear from certain thought leaders or meet specific vendors. Now they’re coming to us, recognizing the value of the Canadian market.”
The technology that enabled remote work during the pandemic has permanently changed how marketing knowledge spreads. High-production livestreams, interactive digital platforms, and post-event content libraries have made physical attendance less necessary for information gathering.
“I attended Adobe Summit virtually last year,” notes Alex Reyes, a senior brand manager at a Canadian financial institution. “I actually consumed more sessions than I would have in person because I could watch recordings at 1.5x speed and skip the parts that weren’t relevant. Plus, I didn’t lose three days to travel.”
While technology provides access to content, it doesn’t replicate the networking aspects of conferences. However, even this gap is narrowing as domestic events grow in prominence.
Marcus Thompson, who analyzes business travel patterns at Deloitte Canada, points to another factor. “There’s been a philosophical shift toward supporting local ecosystems. Marketing directors are asking why they should send their team to U.S. events when they could invest that same budget in Canadian conferences and strengthen their domestic network.”
This trend isn’t going unnoticed by U.S. event organizers. Major conferences like Advertising Week and Social Media Week have introduced Canadian-specific pricing and content tracks. Some have gone further, launching satellite events in Toronto and Vancouver to capture the audience unwilling to travel south.
The environmental impact of business travel has also entered the decision matrix. Many agencies have integrated carbon footprint considerations into travel policies, making it harder to justify flights when virtual alternatives exist.
“Our sustainability commitments mean we need to be selective about air travel,” explains Jordan Lee, Sustainability Director at Purpose Brands. “When we choose to send people to an event, it needs to deliver value that absolutely cannot be replicated virtually.”
Security concerns and border complications represent another deterrent. Marketing professionals report increasing unease about bringing company devices across the border due to expanded digital searches by U.S. customs officials.
“After a colleague had her laptop held for inspection for three hours, we implemented a clean device policy for U.S. travel,” says one agency head who requested anonymity. “The operational headache this creates makes people less eager to volunteer for these trips.”
The shift isn’t universal. Certain marketing specialties, particularly those involving emerging technologies or high-value client relationships, still prioritize in-person U.S. events. Additionally, smaller Canadian markets like Halifax or Winnipeg often find domestic alternatives insufficient for their specialized needs.
What does this mean for the future? The decline in Canadian attendance at U.S. marketing events represents a rebalancing rather than a complete withdrawal. Travel budgets are being allocated more strategically, with greater emphasis on return on investment and unique value.
U.S. conferences hoping to recapture Canadian attendance are experimenting with hybrid formats, regional pricing, and content that can’t be easily replicated virtually. Meanwhile, Canadian event organizers are capitalizing on the opportunity to expand their offerings and attract talent that previously might have looked south.
As Zhang from MarTech Toronto puts it, “The border hasn’t changed, but our perception of its importance has. We’re building world-class marketing events right here, and that’s good for everyone in the Canadian ecosystem.”
For Canadian marketers, the decision process now involves more variables than ever before. The question is no longer simply which U.S. events to attend, but whether international travel delivers sufficient value compared to domestic alternatives and virtual options.
The run for the border hasn’t stopped completely—it’s just become a more selective journey.
