Canada-U.S. travel dropped again in April, but airports are busy: StatCan

Although April was a busy month for Canadian airports overall, fewer passengers chose to fly to the United States, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.  

For the third month in a row, the number of travellers screened at Canadian airports for U.S.-bound flights dropped compared to the previous year.

In contrast, the number of people flying within Canada or to international destinations outside the U.S. rose year-over-year, the agency says.

In April, 1.1 million passengers travelled from Canada to the U.S., marking a 5.8 per cent decrease from April 2024. The figure was also 12.5 per cent lower than in April 2019, before the pandemic.

READ MORE: U.S. inbound travel continues to decline amid shifting sentiment

Meanwhile, domestic travel climbed 7.4 per cent to reach two million passengers in April compared to last year, and was up 1.5 per cent from April 2019 levels.

Airports getting busier

In April, StatCan says 1.4 million passengers were screened at Canadian airports for international flights excluding those to the U.S.—a 7.1 per cent increase from the same month last year.

Compared to April 2019, before the pandemic, that figure was up by an even more substantial 19 per cent.

Canada’s busiest airports saw an overall uptick in passenger volumes. The country’s eight largest airports handled 4.5 million travelers in April, up 3.6 per cent from April 2024 and 1.9 per cent higher than April 2019.

The ongoing decline in U.S. travel follows rising tensions tied to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and threats of annexation. 

A weak Canadian dollar and widespread media coverage of border security incidents and national travel advisories may have also further contributed to the downturn. 

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