Canadian return trips from U.S. see second straight year-over-year increase: StatCan data

A general view shows the Peace Bridge U.S.-Canada border crossing, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Canadian return trips from the United States saw a 9.5 per cent increase in May compared to a year ago, preliminary data from Statistics Canada shows. This marked the second straight month of year-over-year increases.

According to the data, published on June 11, there were 1.9 million Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. in May.

The increase was driven by a 15.1 per cent increase in return trips by automobile. However, StatCan also noted that return trips by air decreased by 5.5 per cent from May 2025.

StatCan has said previously that travel trends among Canadian residents shifted, starting in early 2025, alongside political tensions between Canada and the U.S.

This includes heightened security and scrutiny at the border, multiple tariff announcements and taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump about Canada becoming the 51st state.

December 2025 showed a 25 per cent decline in return trips taken by Canadian residents, according to StatCan data from earlier this year.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities looked at mobile phone information and found a median year-over-year drop in cross-border trips of 42 per cent.

The data gathered from Canadian devices monitored between April 2024 and March 2026, suggested that 50 major U.S. metropolitan areas saw a decline in travel from Canada by 50 per cent or more. The only cities that saw an uptick were Portland, Ore., Gainesville, Fla., and Cleveland.

With files from CTV News’ Kendra Mangione and Mike Le Couteur