The latest travel figures from Statistics Canada show a significant decline in the number of Canadian residents travelling to and from the United States.
The July statistics showed return trips by automobile from the U.S. were down by 36.9 per cent, while return trips by air were down by 25.8 per cent, compared to one year earlier.
Travel between the United States and Canada is significant.
In 2024, there were 39 million trips by Canadian residents to the United States. This represents more than three-quarters of out-of-country travel by Canadians.
And, since tourism from the United States represents the biggest sector of Canada鈥檚 international visitors, a decrease in the number of American tourists will be felt.
The number of American residents travelling to Canada is also declining, according to Statistics Canada data.
And when all international arrivals to Canada are considered, that figure is also showing a decrease.
The drop in travel between the U.S. and Canada should not be seen as an anomaly.
Since the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, travel by Canadians to the U.S. has declined noticeably in each month. This is part of a cooling of relations between the two countries.
And some of the news headlines coming out of the United States 鈥� notably the National Guard presence in Los Angeles earlier and in Washington, D.C. at present 鈥� have some Canadians feeling uneasy about travelling to that country.
These declining visitor numbers are not simply figures on a spreadsheet. Tourism numbers affect communities.
American towns and cities near the international border are feeling the effects of the drop in Canadian traffic.
And in Canada, communities which rely on tourism are also feeling the effects of the decline in U.S. visitors.
There is no quick fix to encourage increased travel between the two countries, and there is no way to know how long this change in tourism patterns will remain.
For now, there are opportunities for Canadians to explore vacation destinations within this country and to discover some hidden gems they may have overlooked in the past.
鈥� Black Press
