Canadian travel to the U.S. continues gradual rebound: StatCan

Canadian travel to the United States continued to show signs of recovery in June, marking the second monthly year-over-year increase since the start of 2025, according to Statistics Canada, releasing its latest data on Monday (July 13).

Canadian residents made 1.7 million return trips from the U.S. in June, a 3.2 per cent increase compared to June 2025.

Return trips by automobile rose 5.2 per cent year over year, while return trips by air declined 3.8 per cent.

The latest figures suggest travel demand is gradually rebounding after more than a year of reduced cross-border travel, following trade tensions between Canada and the United States and U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated comments about making Canada the "51st state."

The resulting consumer backlash led many Canadians to avoid travel south of the border after Trump took office in January 2025.

Despite the recent improvement, travel volumes still remain well below pre-boycott levels.

“When comparing the number of trips in June 2026 with June 2024, a decline of 28.7% was observed, driven by fewer trips by automobile (-29.6%) and by air (-25.0%),” said StatCan.

The first year-over-year increase was recorded in April, when return trips by Canadian residents from the U.S. rose 1.8 per cent.

Overseas arrivals to Canada climb

Meanwhile, Canada welcomed more visitors from overseas in June, with resident arrivals increasing 5.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Air travel accounted for most of the growth, with overseas arrivals by air rising 5.8 per cent year over year.

Statistics Canada said international travel peaked on June 26, during the FIFA World Cup, which saw Toronto and Vancouver host 13 matches between June 11 and July 2.

The tournament provided a boost to inbound travel from participating nations. Across the 15 overseas countries that competed in matches in Canada, air arrivals increased 32.5 per cent compared with June 2025.

Australian arrivals peaked on June 12 ahead of the country's match in Vancouver, while arrivals from Panama reached their highest level on June 16, the day before Panama played in Toronto. German arrivals also peaked on June 19, ahead of Germany's match the following day.

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