Canadians Are Going Back to the US, Slowly
Canadian return trips from the US rose 6.8% in September, the sixth straight annual gain. Car trips are still 31% below 2024 levels, and US visits to Canada jumped 17.2%.
Canadians are going back to the United States, but not like they used to. Statistics Canada’s leading indicator for September counts 1.89 million Canadian-resident return trips from the US by car and air, up 6.8% from September 2025. It is the sixth month in a row of year-over-year growth.
The base is low, though. Return trips by car rose 5.6% on a year earlier but were 31.1% below September 2024. Air trips rose 11.6% but were still 18.7% below 2024.
The full picture
| September 2026 | Trips | Change vs Sept 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| All international arrivals (air and car) | 5.3 million | +9.5% |
| Canadian returns from abroad | 2.9 million | +5.6% |
| — from the US | 1,889,652 | +6.8% |
| — from overseas (air) | 1.0 million | +3.2% |
| US-resident trips to Canada | 1,806,757 | +17.2% |
| — by car | 1.3 million | +19.5% |
| — by air | 537,400 | +12.2% |
| Overseas-resident trips to Canada | 611,733 | +7.3% |
The busiest day for Canadians coming home was Labour Day, Monday 7 September, with 195,100 return trips.
Read the US surge carefully
StatCan says much of the 17.2% jump in US visitors comes from the calendar: Labour Day fell a week later in 2026 than in 2025. It also warns that, from September, it is adding NEXUS Highway data to its car counts, so comparisons with earlier years need caution.
For advisors
- US demand is recovering, by air faster than by car. Air trips are up 11.6%, so fly-and-stay US product is where clients are coming back.
- Inbound is strong. US and overseas visitors are both up; Canadian hosts and DMCs should see it in fall bookings.
- Next data: October’s leading indicator on 12 November; complete September counts on 23 November.