Canadians spent $3.3B less on U.S. travel in 2025: StatCan

Canadians spent $3.3 billion less on travel to the United States in 2025 as political tensions and the "Buy Canadian" movement prompted many residents to look elsewhere, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Figures released Wednesday (July 22) show that Canadians significantly reduced leisure travel to the U.S. last year, with outbound leisure trips south of the border falling 21.5 per cent, or 3.2 million visits.

At the same time, travel to overseas destinations climbed 12.2 per cent, representing an increase of 1.1 million trips.

Travel to visit family and friends in the U.S. also declined nine per cent during the year.

Overall, Canadians spent $18.8 billion on travel to the U.S. in 2025, while spending on overseas travel reached $81.3 billion.

Statistics Canada attributed much of the decline in U.S. travel spending to the "Buy Canadian" movement that emerged amid the U.S. administration's trade dispute with Canada and U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated comments about making Canada the "51st state."

READ MORE: Will Trump's 50% tariff threat stall Canada's return to U.S. travel? Industry pros weigh in

Statistics Canada noted, however, that signs of a recovery began to emerge this spring.

As previously reported, in April, return trips by Canadian residents from the U.S. increased 1.8 per cent year over year — the first annual increase since travel demand softened in early 2025.

The rebound was largely driven by cross-border automobile travel. Return trips by car rose 8.1 per cent, with roughly 65 per cent of those being same-day visits.

The changing travel patterns were also reflected in Canada's aviation sector.

Passenger traffic on flights between Canada and the U.S. declined 7.9 per cent year over year to 29.4 million travellers in 2025.

Meanwhile, Canadian airports recorded stronger demand for domestic travel, which increased 2.9 per cent, while international travel to destinations outside the U.S. rose 5.1 per cent.

Statistics Canada said several airlines responded by cancelling transborder routes and introducing new services to other international destinations.

Leisure fuels overseas growth

Holiday travel remained the primary reason Canadians travelled abroad in 2025, accounting for 54 per cent of all international trips by Canadian residents.

Spending on leisure trips to the U.S. dropped by $2.2 billion to $12.1 billion, making it the largest contributor to the overall decline in U.S. travel spending.

By contrast, Canadians spent an additional $3.6 billion on overseas leisure travel, bringing total leisure spending outside North America to $22.8 billion.

That category accounted for just under half of all overseas travel expenditures.

World Cup boosts inbound travel

The report also pointed to continued growth in overseas visitation to Canada.

Overseas arrivals increased 5.1 per cent in June compared with the same month in 2025, while air arrivals from overseas climbed 5.8 per cent year over year.

The strongest surge came during the FIFA World Cup, when Toronto and Vancouver hosted 13 matches between June 11 and July 2.

Air arrivals from the 15 overseas countries that competed in Canada jumped 32.5 per cent in June compared with the previous year.

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