StatCan: Canada–U.S. travel drops 4.5% by road, 13.8% by air

Statistics Canada has released its cross-border travel data for March 2026, offering a fresh snapshot of Canadian travel patterns and behaviour.

According to the data, released Monday (April 13), road trips – a popular way for Canadians to visit the United States – declined by 4.5 per cent last month compared to March 2025.

Even more striking, they have dropped 35 per cent compared to March 2024, signalling a significant longer-term slowdown.

Air travel to the U.S. is also feeling the impact. The number of Canadians flying south fell by 13.8 per cent year over year in March, reinforcing the broader trend of declining interest in American destinations.

Travel patterns among Canadian residents began to change in response to rising political tensions between Canada and the United States in early 2025,

Meanwhile, travel in the opposite direction is on the rise. The number of Americans visiting Canada increased by four per cent, reaching 1.1 million, compared to the same time last year, suggesting Canada remains an appealing destination for U.S. tourists.

Overseas travel rises

The most notable shift is in how Canadians are choosing to travel overall.

For the third straight month, more Canadians boarded flights to overseas destinations than drove to the United States, reversing a long-standing travel trend.

Overseas travel rose by 4.9 per cent year over year, indicating that many Canadians are opting to explore other parts of the world instead.

Supporting this trend, a recent Longwoods International study found that nearly one in four Canadian travellers—23 per cent—have canceled trips they had previously planned to the U.S.

Canadian-resident return trips from abroad (from both the United States and overseas countries) stood at 3.6 million in March 2026, down 2.5 per cent from the same month one year earlier.

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