by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 2:05 PM ET, Fri March 13, 2026
A Statistics Canada report on people crossing the border into our country has revealed that for the second month in a row, a greater number of Canadian residents returned from overseas by air (1.3 million) than from the United States by auto (1.0 million).
The numbers demonstrate Canadians’ continued aversion to visiting the U.S. while maintaining their interest in travel in general.
A Nanos survey recently conducted for CTV News provides more context for what the data is bearing out. The survey found that 43 percent of Canadians are less likely to travel to the United States in 2026, compared to the previous year.
Thirty-eight percent said they don’t vacation in the United States in general. A tiny four percent said they are likely to spend more leisure time south of the border.
Pollster Nik Nanos elaborated on the findings, saying he thinks for many Canadians, “the U.S. is not on the radar in terms of a travel destination.”
“Canadians are boycotting American goods and services. They’re trying to … send a message to the United States, in terms of their anxiety and displeasure, in terms of the state of the trade relationship,” he added. “I think the reality is, there are a lot of options for Canadians when it comes to where they have a vacation.”
In total, Canadians returning from overseas was up 7.2% in February, 2026 when compared to last year. When it comes to Canadians returning from the U.S., however, the numbers show a steep decline: both return trips by automobile (-12.9%) and by air (-17.6%) declined from February 2025.
In contrast, U.S. residents made 720,400 trips by automobile and 239,200 trips by air to Canada, which represent a 6.4% and 4.9% increase, respectively.
More overseas visitors arrived in Canada as well, a total of 288,500 in February, which was up 10.5% from February 2025.
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