Crossing Back: The US, for Canadians, in 2026

Canadian trips to the US are growing again from a deep 2025 trough but remain well below 2024. What changed at the border, and what to sell.

Andrew LoveseyOctober 14, 20264 min read

Photograph · Norris Wong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Canadians are going back to the United States, slowly. Return trips from the US are growing year over year again, but remain well over a quarter below 2024 levels. For advisors that means two things at once: a client base that is cautious and price-sensitive, and US suppliers that need Canadian bookings badly enough to discount for them. This series, The US, for Canadians, starts here, with plain facts on what has changed and what is worth booking.

The numbers

The fall was steep. Statistics Canada data show Canadian-resident return trips from the US fell 25.4% in 2025, to 29.1 million. In a July review of the year, the agency counted 7.1 million fewer stateside visits and said the 11-month run of year-over-year declines in border crossings was, excluding the pandemic, the deepest and most sustained since records began in 1972. Canadians took about 5 million more domestic trips and 1.3 million more overseas trips instead, according to the same analysis. Desjardins put Canadian visits to the US at about 29 million in 2025, down from 39 million in 2024. The Associated Press, citing Statistics Canada, reported that Canadians spent about $2.4 billion less on US travel in 2025.

The recovery is real but partial. In June 2026, Canadian return trips from the US rose 3.2% from June 2025, Statistics Canada said, but remained 28.7% below June 2024. Air trips that month were still down 3.8% year over year.

US government figures point the same way. The AP reported that the US National Travel and Tourism Office estimates Canadians made even fewer overnight US visits in the first half of 2026 than in the first half of 2025. The gains so far are mostly short car trips.

What changed at the border

Canadian citizens still travel to the US without a visa or ESTA for ordinary visits. Three things are new since early 2025.

Registration for stays of 30 days or more. Since 11 April 2025, foreign nationals, Canadians included, who stay 30 days or longer must register with the US government if they entered without a U.S. Customs and Border Protection document such as an I-94, which mainly affects land arrivals. The Canadian Snowbird Association advised travellers to check the CBP I-94 website first; with no I-94 on file, registration goes through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In October 2025, CTV News reported, citing officials, that snowbirds staying more than a month must now provide fingerprints at the border. Long-stay clients should confirm the current process before departure.
Facial photos on entry and exit. A Department of Homeland Security rule, published 27 October 2025 and expected to take effect 26 December 2025, authorizes CBP to photograph all non-citizens entering or leaving the US at land, air and sea ports, with fingerprints where face matching fails. It removed earlier exemptions for children under 14 and adults over 79, according to law firm MLT Aikins.
National park fees for non-residents. Since January 2026, the National Park Service has charged international visitors $250 for the America the Beautiful annual pass (US residents pay $80) and a $100-per-person surcharge at 11 of the busiest parks, including Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Acadia, NewsNation reported. According to that report, a non-resident in the vehicle can buy the annual pass instead of each person paying the surcharge.

The dollar

The loonie is the other headwind. The Canadian dollar closed at about 70.2 US cents on 7 October 2026, according to Pound Sterling Live’s daily history, near its 2026 low and down from a high of 74.1 cents on 30 January. At that rate US$100 costs roughly C$143. Every US quote should carry a CAD estimate, dated.

Who is courting Canadians

US destinations have spent the past year trying to win Canada back, with mixed results.

New York State launched NY LOVES CANADA this summer, with discounts at hotels, restaurants and attractions.
Las Vegas: some downtown hotels are valuing the Canadian dollar at par, the AP reported, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority sent officials to Canada in August to meet advisors and airlines. “We’re here to make sure you know that we care about Canada,” president Steve Hill said in Vancouver.
Florida: Destin-Fort Walton Beach tourism director Jennifer Adams told the AP the aim is “to let the Canadian family know that they are welcomed here.”
Vermont: Jay Peak Resort, where Canadians make up nearly half of skiers, accepts Canadian cash at par for lift tickets, waterpark passes and season passes, with proof of Canadian residency.
Brand USA: Brand USA brings its Travel Week trade event to Canada, with three days in Toronto and one in Montréal from 26 to 29 October 2026.

Airlines are adding capacity selectively. Porter Airlines moved its Billy Bishop–Chicago flights to O’Hare in September and launches daily Edmonton–Phoenix service on 6 November and Calgary–Phoenix on 20 December 2026.

Not every Canadian is persuaded. “It’s such a big ask right now,” Vancouver marketing executive Josh Loewen told the AP. Advisors will hear both views from clients, and the job is not to argue either side but to price the trip honestly.

For advisors

Pitch to: clients who used to cross every year and stopped in 2025, starting with short drive trips and par or Canadian-only offers, where the value is clearest. Do not push clients who have chosen to stay away.
Book: offers that take on exchange-rate risk, such as par pricing, prepaid packages in CAD or supplier credits. Quote national-park itineraries with the non-resident pass included.
Brief every long-stay client on the 30-day registration rule and the biometric entry/exit process, and tell them to keep proof of their departure date.
Watch: Statistics Canada’s monthly leading indicator (September data due in October), Brand USA’s Travel Week Canada, and whether more US suppliers match Jay Peak’s at-par approach.

Sources

Andrew Lovesey Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief of Not An Atlas and founder of Loveseyland. Former Director of Digital and Video at Canadian Geographic and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Sources are linked above. Spot an error? See our corrections policy.

The numbers

What changed at the border

The dollar

Who is courting Canadians

For advisors

Sources

Canadians Are Going Back to the US, Slowly

Canadians Are Looking Abroad Again

Brand USA's Interim Chief Has One Job

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for the trade and the well-travelled