In an unusual travel shift, more Americans entered Canada by car in July than Canadians drove south of the border — a first in more than 20 years, excluding a few pandemic months, according to new Statistics Canada data. The milestone reflects a sharp drop in Canadian car trips to the United States, even as U.S. vehicle visits to Canada also declined.
Preliminary figures show 1.8 million U.S. residents drove into Canada last month, down 7.4 per cent from July 2024 and marking the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines. By contrast, Canadian car trips returning from the U.S. plummeted 36.9 per cent to 1.7 million, the seventh straight month of decline.
Air travel patterns told a similar story of shifting preferences. While U.S. resident arrivals to Canada by air edged up 0.7 per cent to 714,700, Canadian air returns from the U.S. fell 25.8 per cent. Overall, Canadians took one million air trips home from overseas destinations in July — up 5.9 per cent — suggesting more travellers are skipping U.S. vacations in favour of other international options.
Industry analysts point to political tensions, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and trade policies, as factors discouraging Canadian tourism. The decline in U.S.-bound travel is part of a wider trend, with the U.S. Travel Association reporting overall international visits to America are down, especially from Asia, Western Europe, South America, and Canada — the latter showing the steepest drop.
The World Travel and Tourism Council warns the U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending in 2025, making it the only country among 184 surveyed expected to see a decline this year. Border cities such as Seattle, Portland, and Detroit are bracing for the biggest tourism losses as Canadian visits shrink.