US Travel Down, International Travel on the Upswing

The January numbers from Statistics Canada show that travel trends for the start of the year are continuing along the lines of what was reported throughout the last year, specifically in regards to travel to the U.S.

Overall, the number of Canadians returning home across the border was down when compared to January 2025, by 11 percent. This was due to a sharp decline in the number of visits to the U.S. Canadian residents returning by car from the U.S. was down by 26.8 percent, and by air by 17.8 percent.

But in a demonstration that Canadians are still travelling, the number of us returning from destinations outside the U.S. rose by 11.1 percent compared to the same time period last year. 

Visitors to Canada

Americans continue to come across the border, although in slightly fewer numbers. The 919,900 of them who visited represent a 0.5 percent decrease from January 2025. That’s mainly due to a decrease of 1.5 percent in vehicle traffic; travellers by air increased 2.5 percent over last year.

Visitors from overseas decreased slightly as well, with 2.3 percent fewer arriving at our borders than did last year in January.

Statistics Canada noted that the terrible weather affected travel in January, and led to decreased travel volumes in many parts of the country.

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