Canadian trips to U.S. rise but sit far below 2024

File photo: the walking and cycling path on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The photo is not from the period described.

Canadians made 10.1 per cent more return trips from the United States in July than a year earlier, but the total was still 25.6 per cent below July 2024, according to Statistics Canada data released Sept. 22.

The agency said Canadian residents returned from 2.8 million trips to the U.S. in July. That is a rebound from the depths of the cross-border travel slump of the past two years, but not a return to normal.

Car trips led the gain. Statistics Canada said return trips by automobile rose 12.6 per cent from a year earlier to 2.2 million, and 59.8 per cent of them were same-day trips. Trips by air edged up 0.6 per cent to 567,000.

That small air gain matters because it was the first year-over-year increase since August 2023, according to the agency, ending a 34-month decline. Travelweek reported in August that preliminary estimates had air trips down 1.4 per cent in July. The final count reversed that result.

The 2024 comparison shows how much ground has been lost. Because July 2026 is up 10.1 per cent from July 2025 and 25.6 per cent below July 2024, the numbers imply July 2025 was roughly a third below July 2024. That is Canada News Media’s calculation from the two published percentages, not a figure Statistics Canada reported.

The trend has held for several months. In its Sept. 11 preliminary estimate for August, Statistics Canada said return trips from the U.S. rose 8.8 per cent to about 2.57 million, the fifth straight month of year-over-year growth. Even so, car trips were 27.4 per cent below August 2024 and air trips were 22.7 per cent below.

Travel in the other direction is stronger. Statistics Canada said U.S. residents took 3.5 million trips to Canada in July, up 9.1 per cent, the sixth consecutive monthly increase. The agency noted that Canada hosted three World Cup matches that month, and arrivals from the five participating countries rose 19.5 per cent.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit opened July 27. Statistics Canada said 23,500 returning Canadian residents and 19,600 U.S. residents entered Canada over it from July 27 to 31.

Canadians also travelled less overseas. The agency said return trips from overseas countries fell 1.0 per cent to about 1.0 million, the first decrease outside the pandemic years since July 2019. On these figures, the drop in U.S. travel does not appear to have shifted overseas.

The cost to American destinations has been measured locally. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, in preliminary data reported by FOX5 Vegas on May 5, said Canadian visits to Las Vegas fell 17.4 per cent in 2025 to 1,196,300, from 1,448,700 in 2024. That was 19.2 per cent below 2019. Mexican visits to the city rose one per cent.

Statistics Canada cautioned that comparisons of 2025 and 2026 with earlier years should be made carefully, because data before 2025 do not include IPIL Air. The size of the gap to 2024 may therefore be somewhat different from what the headline percentages show.

The agency said its complete August travel figures are due Oct. 22. It had scheduled its September preliminary estimate for Oct. 13. Those releases will show whether the recovery in car travel is continuing into the fall, and whether air travel, which only just turned positive, can keep growing.

The release counts trips and does not explain them. Statistics Canada did not say why Canadians are returning in larger numbers, and the reasons cannot be drawn from these figures.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.

Via Statistics Canada, The Daily (Sept. 22), with additional figures from Statistics Canada (Sept. 11), Travelweek and FOX5 Vegas.