Canadian return trips from U.S. by car decline for 12th straight month: StatCan

The number of Canadians travelling to and from the United States by car was down for the 12th consecutive month, Statistics Canada data shows.

In December, 1.3 million Canadians returned from the U.S. by automobile, a “steep decline” of 30.7 per cent from the same month in 2024, says Statistics Canada data released on Monday.

The data noted that Dec. 28 was the busiest day for road travel at the border, with 73,800 Canadians returning to the country.

This number was 28.5 per cent higher than the average for all the other Sundays last month.

Air travel also saw a similar drop, with the number of Canadian return trips from the U.S. at 470,700, declining 18.7 per cent compared to December last year.

Canadians travelled to other parts of the world, however, with return trips from overseas increasing to 1.1 million, up 10.4 per cent compared to December last year.

2:14 Canadians still holding back on U.S. travel, new StatCan data shows

The chill in travel flows both ways, with the number of Americans arriving in Canada down 8.9 per cent last month compared to December 2024.

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However, this was offset partially by the number of overseas residents coming to Canada, which was up 6.6 per cent during the same period.

A total of 981,800 American residents travelled to Canada by car in December, a decline of nine per cent compared to December last year. The busiest period for Americans driving into Canada was between Boxing Day and Dec. 27, data showed, with an average of 67,300 arrivals per day.

A recent report by congressional Democrats said declining Canadian tourism was harming American businesses in states along the Canada-U.S. border, pointing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of making Canada the 51st state, his tariffs on Canadian goods and the on-again-off-again trade negotiations.

“In 2024, Canadian tourism contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 140,000 American jobs. The negative impacts of President Trump’s tariff policies have been particularly stark in states along the U.S.-Canada border, which have many businesses that rely on short-term visits by Canadians,” the report by the Joint Economic Committee Minority said.

All U.S. states along the border have reported “rising economic pressures” since Trump took office in January, the report said.

“Businesses throughout the region are also reporting fewer tourists, more vacancies, and lower sale,” it added.