In January, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States (-22.0%) and trips to Canada by US residents (-0.3%) were both down year over year, according to a report by Statistics Canada.
Meanwhile, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from overseas increased 10.6%, while the number of trips to Canada by overseas residents decreased 2.1%, compared with the same month a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad (from the United States and overseas countries) was down 2.2% in January. US-resident arrivals (+4.7%) went up, while overseas-resident arrivals (-2.4%) decreased, added the federal agency.
“Canadian residents returned from 3.6 million trips abroad in January 2026, down 11.0% compared with January 2025. In January 2026, Canadian residents returned from 2.1 million trips to the United States, representing a 22.0% decrease from the same month a year earlier and marking the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year decline. Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile declined 26.3% to 1.3 million in January. Of these arrivals, 67.5% were same-day trips. Meanwhile, the number of return trips by air from the United States (753,400) decreased 12.8% compared with January 2025,” explained the report.
“In contrast, Canadian-resident return trips from overseas countries (1.5 million) were up 10.6% in January 2026 compared with January 2025. This level exceeded the number of return trips from the United States by automobile (1.3 million) for the first time since the digital Frontier Counts records began in 1972 (excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period).”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024, 2025 and 2026.
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