Travel Tumult: Canadian Return Trips to U.S. Drop 26% in October
Posted on: December 28, 2025, 08:08h.
Last updated on: December 28, 2025, 08:08h.
- StatsCan data shows Canadians continue to avoid U.S. when travelling
- Year-long trend since start of U.S.-Canada trade dispute and comments by U.S. President Trump
- November Flight Centre study says 62% of Canadians less likely to travel to U.S. in 2026
Canadian travel to the U.S. continues to tank, according to data released by Statistics Canada, nearly a year-long trend going back to the start of a trade war before the two countries and comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about welcoming Canada as America’s 51st state.
So, there’s obviously a lot of anger among Canadians that continues to fester. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. in October was down 26.3% year over year (2.3 million trips to the U.S.).
The number of trips to Canada by U.S. residents was up 3% (1.8 million trips – 76.8% of all non-resident trips to Canada). That broke an eight-month trend of year-over-year declines.
Over 26% Drop in October
That 2.3 million number still accounted for 70.1% of all trips abroad taken by Canadian residents during the month.
In October, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by air from the U.S. decreased 15.1% (685,100) compared with the same month a year earlier. Canadian resident-return trips from the U.S. by car declined 30.2% in October (1.6 million). Of these trips, 67.5% were same-day trips.
Canadians are travelling more overseas – destinations like Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and Americas (countries other than the U.S.). Trips by Canadians to destinations overseas increased 9.1% in October according to Statcan.
2026 Looks Bleak
An Angus Reid study released in November revealed that 70% of Canadians say they would be uncomfortable travelling to the U.S. this winter, and two-thirds (65%) describe new border requirements for long-term visitors (including fingerprinting and a $60 registration fee) as “invasive”.
Three-quarters of Canadians (77%) say they view the U.S. more negatively as a travel destination this year than in prior years.
According to a Flight Centre study of over 1,000 adult Canadians, asking them about their travel intentions for 2026, 62% said they were less likely to travel to the U.S. compared to previous years. The study was conducted in November.
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