Canadian journey to U.S. declines for seventh consecutive month amid commerce warfare – National

For the seventh consecutive month, Canadians took their tourism {dollars} elsewhere in July 2025 and mentioned no to heading south of the border.

In July, the variety of Canadian residents getting back from the United States was right down to 2.6 million, marking a 32.4 per cent lower in contrast with July 2024, Statistics Canada mentioned in a brand new report Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 3.3 million U.S. residents made the journey to Canada in July, a drop of three per cent in contrast with July final yr.

This marked solely the second month since June 2006, excluding August and September 2021 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, that extra Americans visited Canada than the opposite method round.

Canadians selected to spend their cash elsewhere because the variety of Canadian resident return journeys from abroad elevated 8.3 per cent.

U.S. journeys accounted for 65 per cent of all journeys by Canadians overseas. This meant that complete journey by Canadians overseas, together with to the U.S., declined by 24.2 per cent.

Foreign abroad vacationers flocked to Canada in increased numbers, nevertheless, because the variety of journeys to Canada by abroad residents was up 10.3 per cent.

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While 1.9 million Canadians drove to and from the U.S. in July, this was a decline of 35.8 per cent in contrast with July final yr. Of these, round 60 per cent of the journeys had been same-day journeys.

A complete of 563,500 Canadians returned from the U.S. by air, a lower of 16.2 per cent in contrast with the identical month final yr.

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In July this yr, 999,600 abroad residents arrived in Canada. The majority of those (81.7 per cent) travelled to Canada by air.

Just three international locations – the United Kingdom (134,700), France (104,100) and India (68,300) – made up almost one-third (30.7 per cent) of all abroad arrivals in Canada.

Europe and Asia had been the first contributors to the annual improve in abroad vacationers to Canada, the report mentioned.

“This summer, Canadians chose to explore more of their own country, choosing to support local businesses, and keeping their travel dollars in Canada. That is a testament to the quality, diversity, and innovation of the experiences our industry provides,” the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) mentioned in a press release.

The group added that the rise within the variety of guests from Asia, specifically, was “encouraging” and mirrored a diversification of Canada’s tourism business.

“These results remind us that sustained investment is essential to ensure Canada remains top of mind for travellers around the world,” the assertion mentioned.

The ‘Buy Canadian’ sentiment may be encouraging Canadians to spend their cash nearer to residence, serving to the Canadian tourism business climate challenges, mentioned Jayne McCaw, proprietor of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals, an Canadian cottage rental platform.

“While U.S. bookings have dipped slightly due to cross-border complexities, the rise in Canadian staycations has more than offset that decline,” McCaw mentioned.

Canadians need to spend subsequent summer time at residence too, she mentioned.

“Advance long-term bookings for next summer stays are already triple last year’s, and back to pandemic levels, signalling renewed momentum for extended, domestic getaways,” she added.

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