Canada-U.S. Travel Takes a Sharp Turn This Summer
If you’re planning a cross-border getaway, here’s a surprising update: travel between Canada and the United States has taken a serious hit this summer. According to fresh numbers from Statistics Canada, there’s been a dramatic drop in both air and road trips. And it’s not just a blip—this might be part of something bigger.
What the Numbers Say
In June 2025, only 1.66 million Canadian residents returned from the U.S.—a 22% drop in air travel and a 33% drop in automobile trips compared to the same period last year. That’s a noticeable slide, especially when you consider that Canadian travel to other international destinations is actually up by 7% over the same timeframe.
At the same time, visitors arriving in Canada by air remained roughly the same as last year. But cross-border traffic by car saw a 10% decline, marking the fifth straight month of fewer U.S. drivers entering Canada. Clearly, there’s more than just gas prices keeping people at home.
Why This Drop Matters
StatCan’s June report doesn’t sugarcoat it: the pattern represents a “steep and abrupt decline” in Canadians returning from the U.S., especially since the start of 2025. What’s driving this? It’s hard to say for sure. But the trend seems clear—Canadian road trips to the U.S. are slowing down, and not just a little.
While some of this may relate to changing economic signals or post-election uncertainties in the U.S., the shift seems more than temporary. Even StatCan is unsure whether this is just a seasonal slump or the start of a long-term change in travel behavior.
A Deeper Dive: Same-Day Travel Hit the Hardest
The steepest drop isn’t in long vacations—it’s in same-day trips, which are often spontaneous and more reflective of personal comfort levels. In May 2025, these brief journeys plummeted 40% compared to May 2024.
To put that into perspective, that’s a sharper fall than what happened after 9/11 (31%) and the 2008 financial crisis (23%). That’s major. Nearly two-thirds of land border crossings in the past year were same-day returns, showing just how widespread this slowdown really is.
Where the Declines Are Most Severe
Some of the busiest land border points are seeing the biggest dips:
Niagara Falls, Ontario: down 45%
Douglas, British Columbia: down 53%
Pacific Highway crossing (B.C.): down 58%
Since land travel makes up 75% of all Canadian trips to the U.S., this matters—a lot. These routes are often less costly and require less planning, making them particularly vulnerable to shifts in sentiment or geopolitical climate.
What’s Causing the Hesitation?
Experts suggest that land travel reacts faster to changes in public sentiment, especially when it comes to affordability, safety, or border tension. While no single event explains the downturn, the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election may have played a part in dampening interest, especially among cautious Canadian travelers.
Add in factors like interest rates, global uncertainty, and shifting consumer confidence, and you’ve got a recipe for slower travel.
Will Travel Bounce Back?
That’s the big question. The U.S. is still Canada’s top travel destination, with nearly 26 million visits out of 38 million total international trips in 2023–2024, according to Global Affairs Canada. But if this pattern continues, we may see a real rebalancing of Canadian travel habits, with more people choosing Europe, Asia, or staycations over spontaneous stateside jaunts.
Stay tuned to Maple Wire for more insights and breaking travel trends.
