Domestic travel rose in July as trips to the United States fell: StatCan
With transborder screen passenger traffic down by 8.7 per cent in July, the agency notes this number was 'well below the same month in 2024,' which was 12.5 per cent.
Canada's domestic travel surged by 3.3 percent in July compared to the same month last year, according to Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, trans-border travel to the United States plummeted by 8.7 percent in the same period, showing a significant drop from June 2024's rate of 12.5 percent. This decline was notably lower than the 15 months of consecutive low travel rates due to border tensions between the neighboring countries, which began to lift in April 2025.
Among major airports, Vancouver International saw a 4.5 percent drop, Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International experienced a 2.0 percent decrease, and Calgary International had a minimal decline of 0.1 percent. The overall international screened passenger counts in July 2026 were 6.2 percent higher than in July 2023.
The dip in trans-border travel led Canadians to spend $3.3 billion less on U.S. travel in 2025, aligning with the 'Buy Canadian' movement. Canadians redirected their leisure travel from the U.S. (-21.5 percent; -3.2 million visits) to overseas destinations (+12.2 percent; +1.1 million visits). In total, Canadian travel spending to the U.S. amounted to $18.8 billion in 2025, while spending on overseas travel reached $81.3 billion.
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