Canadian travel to the U.S. plummeted last winter and on average, Canadians spent a lot less money while travelling south of the border, data from Statistics Canada shows.
Overall, Canadians made fewer trips abroad. In the last three months of 2025, Canadians made 8.7 million trips abroad, down 13 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, Statistics Canada said in its National Travel Survey and Visitor Travel Survey.
But nowhere was the drop clearer than the United States.
During the last quarter of 2025, the first major holiday season since the trade war with the U.S. began, Canadians took 5.4 million trips to the U.S., declining 24 per cent compared to the same time in 2024.
Canadians also spent less money while in the U.S., the survey showed. Between October and December 2025, Canadians spent $4 billion, declining 16.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
Four in 10 (41 per cent) of Canadian trips to the U.S. were same-day trips, during which the average Canadian spent $167. For overnight stays, Canadians spent an average of $1,138 per visit.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
While visits to the U.S. declined, Canadian trips to non-U.S. overseas destinations soared, with Mexico accounting for the most trips (673,000) by Canadians to an overseas destination, followed by France (236,000) and the Dominican Republic (231,000).
Canadians spent $7.6 billion overseas, an increase of 25.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. On average, Canadians spent $2,278 per visit overseas, with the average visit lasting 13.4 nights.
Domestic travel by Canadians declined in the last quarter of 2025.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Canadian residents took 74.9 million trips that included a domestic visit, down by 6.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2025.
However, Canadians spent more money at home. From October to December 2025, Canadians spent $16.7 billion on domestic tourism, up three per cent compared to the same period in 2024. For same-day visits, Canadians spent an average of $103 per visit, while they spent an average of $462 per visit for overnight visits within Canada.
Read the full article here
