Canada travel counts rose in August as US trips resumed growth

Statistics Canada’s 22 October release counted 4.42 million unadjusted return trips to Canada by residents returning from abroad in August 2026, up 6.0% from a year earlier. Non-resident visitors made 4.22 million trips into Canada, a 4.6% annual increase. Seasonally adjusted counts showed a smaller monthly rise: Canadian return trips from abroad edged up 0.2% to 3.70 million, while visitor arrivals increased 2.9% to 2.71 million.

The August pattern differed by destination. Canadian-resident return trips from the United States reached 3.2 million, 9.3% higher than a year earlier and the fifth straight annual increase after 15 consecutive monthly declines. Even so, the count remained 23.2% below August 2024. By automobile, returns from the United States rose 10.5% to 2.4 million; 57.8% were same-day trips. Air returns rose 4.8% to 637,800, while cruise returns fell 4.6% to 32,200.

Canadian residents made 1.2 million return trips from overseas countries, down 2.0% year over year. Inbound overseas travel moved in the opposite direction: arrivals rose 5.6% year over year on unadjusted counts. On seasonally adjusted figures, overseas arrivals increased 1.2% from July, driven by a 6.6% gain from Asia; increases from India and Israel offset declines from Mexico and the United Kingdom.

The release distinguishes raw counts from seasonally adjusted comparisons. The headline international totals are unadjusted unless stated otherwise; monthly comparisons use adjusted series to account for seasonal and calendar effects. Statistics Canada said seasonal-adjusted data for May through July were revised, while no revisions were made to unadjusted data. Users should also note a comparability change: border-processing data for air arrivals were integrated in 2025, and earlier months do not include that system.

The agency reported that the Gordie Howe International Bridge opened on July 27 and that comprehensive August entry data for the new Windsor–Detroit crossing were available in the cited tables. The release does not treat the change in travel counts as a direct measure of spending or tourism revenue; it counts trips and arrivals. The next monthly release, covering September 2026, was scheduled for November 23.

The two headline totals describe different directions of movement: returning residents are Canadian trips ending at home, while non-resident visitors are inbound trips. They are trip counts rather than unique-person totals, so repeat travel can contribute more than once. For monthly trend comparisons, the adjusted series is more appropriate than comparing raw August totals with July, because the raw series also reflects seasonality and calendar effects. The release keeps those measures distinct.