Canadians cut US travel spending $2.4B

Statistics Canada said on July 22 that Canadian residents spent C$18.8 billion on trips to the United States in 2025, down C$3.3 billion from 2024. The agency said total return border crossings from the United States fell 25.4% last year, or by 7.1 million visits, based on National Travel Survey data. The decline came as Canadian travel patterns shifted toward domestic and overseas destinations, according to the agency’s Economic and Social Reports release. Statistics Canada linked the shift to changes in U.S. policy in early 2025 and said travel plans “shifted abruptly.” ### How big was the drop in Canadian travel to the United States? Statistics Canada said Canadian-resident return trips from the United States fell by one-quarter in 2025 compared with 2024. The agency’s July 22 review said that amounted to 7.1 million fewer visits over the year. It said the United States remained Canada’s main international destination, but the pullback in 2025 had not been reversed by the time of publication. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) The same report said spending on U.S. visits fell to C$18.8 billion in 2025. That was C$3.3 billion lower than a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s Daily release. ### Which kind of trips accounted for most of the decline? Leisure travel accounted for most of the drop, Statistics Canada said. The agency reported that outbound leisure travel from Canada to the United States fell 21.5% in 2025, a decline of 3.2 million visits. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) Spending on those leisure trips fell by C$2.2 billion to C$12.1 billion. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) Family-related travel held up better. Statistics Canada said visits to the United States for family-related travel declined 9.0% in 2025, making that category less affected by destination substitution than leisure travel. ### Where did Canadian travelers go instead? Domestic and overseas travel absorbed most of the shift, according to Statistics Canada. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) The agency said the reduction in U.S. travel was “almost entirely offset” by an increase of 5.0 million domestic visits and 1.3 million overseas visits in 2025. Overseas leisure travel rose 12.2%, or by 1.1 million visits, in 2025, Statistics Canada said. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) Spending on overseas leisure trips increased by C$3.6 billion to C$22.8 billion, while domestic tourism expenditures rose 8.7% from 2024 to C$81.3 billion. ### What did Statistics Canada say caused the shift? Statistics Canada said the change began in early 2025. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) In its July 22 report, the agency wrote that “following the change in the U.S. administration in early 2025 and the implementation of America First policies, Canadians’ travel plans shifted abruptly.” The agency also said automobile return crossings contracted sharply beginning in early 2025, while returns by air declined throughout the year. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) Statistics Canada said that pattern reflected, in part, the fact that it is easier to change automobile travel plans than air travel plans. ### Did the pullback continue into 2026? (www150.statcan.gc.ca) Statistics Canada’s quarterly releases showed the weakness carrying into late 2025 and early 2026. In the fourth quarter of 2025, expenditures during visits to the United States totaled C$4.0 billion, down 16.4% from the same period a year earlier, the agency said. Statistics Canada’s travel and tourism portal continues to publish monthly and quarterly updates, including National Travel Survey releases and cross-border travel data. (www150.statcan.gc.ca) The agency’s July 22, 2026 Economic and Social Reports article remains the main year-in-review source for the 2025 shift in Canadian travel to the United States. (statcan.gc.ca) (www150.statcan.gc.ca)