Cruising

Key points

• Fewer Canadians are traveling to the U.S., continuing a trend that began last year.
• Overseas travel is expanding, supported by new flight connections that boost spending in Alberta.
• The trade war has kept more Canadian tourist dollars in Canada, while hurting the U.S. economy.

In today’s edition of The Twenty-Four, we examine recent international travel data from Statistics Canada to analyze ongoing trends and evaluate their impact on the Canadian and U.S. tourism sectors.

Stateside travel still down

Persistent political tensions between Canada and the U.S. continue to dampen Canadian travel south of the border. The trend took hold in 2025, when Canadian travel to the U.S. plummeted by 25%. While the latest data indicates a brief uptick over the spring and summer months, recent trade escalations suggest the improvement might be short-lived. In any case, the number of Canadians visiting the U.S. remains well below the levels seen before the trade war (excluding the disruption caused by the pandemic).

Travel patterns in Alberta reflect this broader national shift, with the province recording an 11.6% decrease in Canadian residents travelling to the U.S. via Alberta last year and a further decline of 7% over the first eight months of 2026. In response to soft demand for cross-border travel, Air Canada has cut several direct routes to U.S. destinations through next year.

After falling slightly in 2025, travel by U.S. residents into Canada has actually increased so far this year, up 7.3% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

Trips to overseas destinations on the rise

Given the aversion to U.S. travel, Canadians increasingly turned to other destinations over the past year. Overseas travel by Canadians has seen a 3.9% increase so far this year, following a 9.2% jump in 2025, with Mexico, Spain, Portugal, and France proving particularly popular.

Despite this, the increase in overseas travel by Canadians has not kept pace with the decrease in travel to the U.S. The number of visits to the U.S. was down by almost 10 million last year versus an increase of 1.2 million in visits to other countries. While some of the overseas trips may be longer and cost more than trips to the U.S., the sheer number of Canadians staying home instead of going to the U.S. is keeping more tourist spending in Canada.

More travel to and within Canada

Travel to Canada from residents of countries other than the U.S. rose by 7.5% last year, though overall volume remains below pre-pandemic levels. Alberta proved to be an exception, with this metric rising by 23% last year, supported by a host of new international flights at Edmonton and Calgary airports boosting visits from Asian and European countries.

The expansion of domestic flight options has similarly bolstered inbound travel within Alberta. Notably, spending in the province by residents from Ontario and British Columbia grew by 5.6% and 13.8% last year, respectively.

Canada’s and Alberta’s tourism sectors doing well

Shifting travel preferences over the past year have had distinct impacts on Canadian tourism.

Driven by record foreign resident spending, Canadian tourism GDP expanded by 2.5% in 2025 and grew an additional 3.8% during the first half of 2026. Although quarterly provincial data is unavailable, Alberta’s performance is expected to closely mirror these national trends.

The U.S. is taking it on the chin

International visitors to the U.S., in contrast, dropped 5.5% last year—marking the first annual decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, spending by international visitors also contracted by 4.6%. Despite major events like the FIFA World Cup this year, current projections anticipate a 2% decline in overall international arrivals in 2026.

Because Canadians historically account for the largest share of international visits to the U.S., this downturn continues to weigh on the American tourism sector. In response, several destinations and businesses have introduced targeted incentives to attract Canadian tourists. For instance, New York State launched a "NY Loves Canada" campaign offering discounts on accommodations, dining, and attractions. Similarly, select downtown Las Vegas hotels are accepting Canadian currency at par value, and Las Vegas tourism representatives recently met with Canadian travel advisors, tour operators, and airline partners to bolster engagement.

What’s next?

Ongoing trade tensions, along with provocative actions, such as renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America”, and references to making Canada the 51st state, are likely to continue suppressing travel by Canadians to the U.S. Improved trade relations would likely have the opposite effect.

Conversely, Canada’s recent pursuit of associate membership in the EU, coupled with ongoing discussions regarding visa-free work and travel privileges, could further enhance travel between Canada and European destinations. Furthermore, Air Canada has announced extensive plans to expand its flight networks (global destinations) by the summer of 2027.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in 1952.

Today’s trivia question: Who was the first Canadian woman in space?