Political tension was the initial reason Canadians skipped travel to the United States. However, since then, the boycotts have taken on a life of their own. Border insecurities have added to the uncertainty. Reports from just days ago show U.S. Customs and Border Protection denying entry to Canadians for non-criminal incidents almost a decade ago.
The same holds on the opposite end of the spectrum: Americans are concerned after Canadian border agents refused a U.S. traveler, demanding 12 documents.
With all these uncertainties, Canadians continue to decrease travel to the United States.
The latest data shows not only that Canadians are avoiding the United States, but also that those who are taking trips are approaching it differently.
Here’s a closer look at changes in Canadian travel habits to the United States.
The Latest Data Shows Canadians Made A Change In The Spring And Upped Same-Day Trips To The United States
New data has been released by Statistics Canada, taking a closer look at Canadian-related travel for the second quarter.
Once again, second-quarter visits to the United States decreased. Canadian residents made 5.6 million trips to the United States, a 21.6% decline from last year. Additionally, expenditures during visits to the United States totaled $4.8 million, a 14.9% decline.
According to Statistics Canada, a major reason for the decline in revenue was a change in Canadians’ travel to the United States. The data states that 39.1% of the total visits to the United States by Canadians in the second quarter were same-day trips.
Stats Canada wrote in its breakdown, “Among these visits, 39.1% were same-day. In the United States, Canadian residents spent an average of $125 per same-day visit in the second quarter of 2025. For overnight stays, Canadian residents spent on average $1,312 per visit, and the average visit length was 7.3 nights.”
The trends have changed, with a large chunk of Canadians opting to spend the day in the United States, as opposed to staying overnight.
The trend didn’t hold true for international travel. Canadians actually increased trips to countries outside the United States during the second quarter.
Canadians Increased International Outbound Travel In The Spring
From April to June, Canadian residents took 3.3 million trips that included outbound visits overseas. This was an increase of 10.4% compared to 2024. The spending also increased dramatically at overseas destinations to $8.1 billion, again, an increase of 28.4%.
“On average, Canadian residents spent $2,435 per visit, and the average visit length was 13.2 nights,” Statistics Canada wrote.
During the second quarter, Mexico was the preferred international destination among Canadians, with 471,000 visits.
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Most Visited Countries By Canadians During The Second Quarter: |
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1. Mexico: 471,000 visitors |
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2. France: 319,000 visitors |
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3. United Kingdom: 279,00 visitors |
Although these countries saw a healthy spike, Canadians traveled less to other international countries.
In the second quarter, travel to Thailand decreased by 67.3% year over year to 33,000 visits. The same held for the Dominican Republic, as Canadians visited 20.5% less than last year during the second quarter.
Along with the change in behavior for U.S. visits, Canadians are also approaching booking travel to America differently than ever before.
Airlines In Canada Are Also Noticing A Change In How Canadians Are Booking Travel To The United States
The booking trends for U.S. travel have also changed, according to Viktor Spysak, Manager, Sales and Tourism Partnerships for Air Canada.
During a panel discussion, Spysak revealed that those who are booking travel to the United States are making last-minute decisions. This has reduced the booking window for U.S. travel.
“Our booking window has reduced, which suggests that a lot of travelers are making last-minute decisions.”
Despite the changes in travel behavior, the Air Canada rep did not call the new patterns problematic. Additionally, he confirmed that Air Canada was cautiously restarting marketing for U.S. travel.
“We donÊ»t do it as a hard sell, but rather to remind our audience and our travelers of the routes and the destinations that we serve.”
At the same time, Air Canada offers many flights to Mexico. The airline has clearly adjusted to the times, including a massive network of flights to Europe.
With the busy holiday season looming, it remains to be seen whether the current trends will hold or shift once again.
