Car travel from Canada to U.S. drops 13%, air travel falls 17.6%: StatCan

The latest data on cross-border travel from Canada to the United States is in, and it suggests that trends are stabilizing now that we’re well past the one-year mark of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency.

In February, 1.5 million Canadian residents returned from trips to the United States, a 14.5 per cent decrease from the same month in 2025, according to Statistics Canada.

When compared with February 2024, before the emergence of trade tensions between Canada and the United States in early 2025, the decline is even more pronounced at 31.5 per cent.

Both major travel methods experienced reductions last month, StatCan reports.

Return trips by automobile fell 12.9 per cent, while air travel from the United States dropped 17.6 per cent compared with February 2025.

Overseas travel grows

In contrast to the decline in U.S. travel, Canadian-resident return trips from overseas countries reached 1.3 million in February 2026, an increase of 7.2 per cent year over year, says StatCan.

For the second consecutive month, more Canadian residents returned to Canada by air from overseas (1.3 million) than by car from the United States (1.0 million), highlighting a shift in travel preferences toward long-haul destinations.

Overall return trips decline

However, Canadian-resident return trips from abroad totalled 2.8 million in February 2026, representing a 5.7 per cent decrease compared with February 2025.

This overall decline was driven largely by a drop in travel to the United States, while trips to overseas destinations continued to grow, says StatCan.

U.S. travel to Canada rebounds

While Canadian travel to the United States declined, travel in the opposite direction increased.

In February 2026, U.S. residents made 959,600 trips to Canada, marking a 6.1 per cent increase compared with February 2025, says StatCan.

This was the first year-over-year increase after 12 consecutive months of declines.

Of these trips, 720,400 were by automobile, representing a 6.4 per cent increase, while 239,200 were by air, up 4.9 per cent.

Overseas visitors to Canada

Travel to Canada from overseas also rose during the month. Overseas residents made 288,500 trips to Canada in February, an increase of 10.5 per cent from February 2025, says StatCan.

Most overseas visitors arrived by air, totaling 270,200 travellers, which represents a 12.6 per cent year-over-year increase. In contrast, arrivals by automobile declined 13.0 per cent, totalling 18,300 trips.