MONTREAL (Reuters) - Air Canada reported a wider first-quarter loss on Thursday, owing to weaker passenger traffic to its key U.S. market amid strained trade relations between the two countries.

The country's largest carrier reported a first-quarter adjusted loss of C$0.45 per share compared with an adjusted loss of C$0.27 per share during the same period a year ago.

The airline lowered its adjusted EBITDA forecast for the current year to a range of C$3.2 billion to C$3.6 billion from C$3.4 billion to C$3.8 billion earlier.

It is targeting operating revenues of approximately C$30 billion by 2028, the carrier said.

North American carriers have been trimming flight schedules amid weakening U.S. domestic bookings, scrapping financial forecasts and tightening cost controls - including on rising labor expenses - to safeguard margins.

Tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump this year have chilled consumer sentiment, while raising prices on aircraft parts and planes that jet makers are trying to pass on to airlines.

Air Canada has previously said its decline in U.S.-bound bookings over the next six months mirrors an industry-wide drop of roughly 10%.

(This story has been corrected to change the currency from US dollars to Canadian dollars in paragraphs 3 and 4)