Canadian travel to the US rises for a seventh straight month despite trade tensions
Canadian travel to the United States is rising despite a trade dispute between the two countries, reciprocal tariffs and calls to boycott American products. Canada-US border crossings have now increased for a seventh consecutive month.
According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, about 1.889 million Canadian travellers returned to Canada from the United States in October 2026. That is 3 percent more than in the same period last year. The statistics were released on 12 November.
The agency’s data show that returns from the US by car in October were up 2.2 percent from the same time last year, while returns by air rose 5.6 percent. In other words, Canadian travel to the US increased by both road and air.
Even so, travel has not yet returned to its 2024 level. Compared with October of that year, returns by car in October 2026 were 29 percent lower and returns by air were 19.6 percent lower.
Canadian travel to the US had fallen significantly in 2025. US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, the trade dispute between the two countries, and calls to boycott American products and avoid travelling to the US were seen as among the reasons for that decline.
But the steady increase in border crossings since April 2026 points to a change in the situation.
Travel by US citizens to Canada has also risen. About 1.537 million Americans visited Canada by car and plane in October, 8.1 percent more than in the same period last year.
Analysts say that despite political and trade tensions, contact and travel between the peoples of the two countries continue. Citizens cross the border for family visits, business, shopping and holidays, among other reasons. But crossings will have to rise further to return to the 2024 position.
