The Snowbird RV Show, British Columbia’s largest annual RV event, ran Sept. 18–21 in Emsford and drew thousands of visitors while showcasing how travel habits are shifting across the Canadian RV industry.
According to a news report by Global News, this year, industry leaders pointed to rising demand for rentals and a decline in U.S. cross-border trips as defining trends.
“People are staying in Canada and exploring Canada. For us in Fraserway, we’ve noticed a 32% uptick in our rentals,” said Allison Blouin, Fraserway RV national customer service manager.
Rental platforms are seeing the same changes in traveler behavior. “Traditionally, we’d have about 25% of our Canadian rentals enter the United States, where this year that’s down to 8%,” said Michael McNaught, RVezy.com CEO and founder.
He added that the shift is boosting local economies. “And our RVs travel and spend approximately $200, $250 per day in the communities. All that money is staying here locally.”
While rentals continue to grow, overall RV sales are lagging. “Sales overall, I would say for the industry and across Canada, were down about 9% from last year,” Blouin said.
Despite softer sales, show organizers said enthusiasm among attendees was strong. “We see those that know exactly what they’re looking for and going straight to that section or to that RV,” said Mandi Brix, Snowbird RV Show director.
“And that there’s those that are browsing and kind of deciding, which is what makes the show so amazing, because you have all the different types available under one roof,” Mandy added.
Looking ahead, McNaught noted that rental demand is already spilling into the future. “People book quite early, like 12, 18 months in advance of their vacation. And we’re already seeing those trends that we saw here in 2025 already getting booked for 2026,” he said.
The Snowbird RV Show, which welcomed about 9,000 visitors, reflected how Canadians are keeping their RV travel closer to home, with rentals driving growth across the industry.