Canadian academics have been advised against travelling to the US, highlighting the rapid ¡°sea change¡± in research collaboration between the near neighbours, with scholars warning of potentially ¡°catastrophic¡± effects.

Amid an ¡°evolving political landscape¡± and reports of difficult border crossings, that academics cross the border only if essential and necessary.

A number of countries have issued travel warnings to tourists hoping to travel to the US since Donald Trump¡¯s second presidency began, and many universities have warned students against leaving the country, after reports of people being denied entry?because of their political views.

Representing over 70,000 academic staff, the CAUT warning is a ¡°serious blow to American higher education¡±, according to Carolyn Fast, director of higher education policy and senior fellow at the Century Foundation.

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¡°US colleges rely on collaboration and exchange with academics and scientists at universities in Canada and throughout the world. Cutting off this exchange will isolate US academics and could significantly impede scientific advancements.¡±

Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, said the move was not particularly shocking given Trump¡¯s trade war with the ¡°51st?state¡±, and his ¡°disgraceful¡± attacks on US higher education and students.

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¡°The US has already lost the respect of the world due to the belligerence of Trump and the mindless, reckless imposition of tariffs that are harming economies everywhere. Our reputation is severely damaged if not destroyed by Trump¡¯s vindictive, destructive actions.¡±

McGuire said the closure of the US sector to free thinkers and independent scholars is a ¡°catastrophe¡± for institutions?that rely on US universities for teaching, research and innovation, and for scientific discovery.

Similar travel advice was not issued during the height of the Cold War when McCarthyism targeted US universities, added Iwan Morgan, emeritus professor in the Institute of the Americas at UCL.

¡°It¡¯s fuelled by Trump¡¯s silly comments about Canada becoming the 51st state but has more to do with the administration¡¯s unprecedented attacks on academic freedom.¡±

As US institutions begin to fight back, Morgan said the CAUT decision had come at a ¡°critical juncture¡±.

¡°I have no doubts that the move by CAUT is to give US colleges evidence that Trump is damaging the standing of US universities who have an essential role to play in the nation¡¯s economy and society.¡±

Mark Shanahan, associate professor of political engagement at the University of Surrey, said Trump¡¯s attacks were an attempt to impose his authority and establish a ¡°new era of deference to power¡±.

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¡°In just four months, this feels like a huge sea change and a shift towards the kind of central control more akin to Eastern Europe in the Soviet era. Trump¡¯s control is through federal funding ¨C but he¡¯s also pushing hard against the boundaries of the law.¡±

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In recent days, Harvard has pushed back against White House demands, but

Institutions?that ¡°kowtow¡± to Trump will damage their international reputation, but the bigger issue will be the damage to international collaboration, Shanahan warned.

¡°The US has been the driver of so much academic advance for a century. American isolationism will be the biggest disservice to human progression that a US president has ever delivered.¡±

The American Political Science Association has recently announced it will hold its 2025 conference in Vancouver. Shanahan said this showed that academics and their professional bodies are ¡°voting with their feet¡±, and that Canada-based conferences will become the norm.

There have also been some indications that a ¡°Trump effect¡± is turning overseas students against the US.

Irish students were recently warned to be cautious about ¡°activism¡± while travelling to the US on popular J1 visas this summer.

Fast said Canadian students, who pay the full tuition ¡°sticker price¡±, help subsidise lower tuition costs for many domestic students and are crucial in combating the approaching ¡°demographic cliff¡±.

¡°Federal policies that discourage international students from coming to US schools would force many US colleges to increase tuition prices, decrease offerings, or even close their doors altogether."

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com