In December, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States was down 25% year over year, while the number of trips to Canada by US residents decreased 7.5%, reported Statistics Canada on Monday.
In contrast, both the number of Canadian-resident return trips from overseas (+12.9%) and the number of trips to Canada by overseas residents (+14.1%) increased compared with the same month a year earlier, said the federal agency.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad edged up 0.3% in December. Meanwhile, both US-resident arrivals (+1.5%) and overseas-resident arrivals (+1.2%) saw increases, it said.
Trips to Canada by US residents decrease
In December 2025, US-resident trips to Canada (1.6 million) decreased 7.5% from the same month in 2024, explained Statistics Canada.
“British Columbia saw the largest year-over-year decline, partially because of a base-year effect from a higher number of visitors in December 2024 that coincided with a series of high-profile concerts in Vancouver,” it said.
“Arrivals by automobile (1.1 million) were down 7.5% year over year in December 2025, with just over half (50.7%) of these arrivals being same-day trips. Meanwhile, air arrivals (395,800) decreased 4.6% year over year.”
Trips to Canada by overseas residents continue to increase
In December, 509,500 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up 14.1% from the same month a year earlier, with the majority (90.7%) of arrivals by air, said the report.
“Increases in arrivals from Europe (+8.7%), Asia (+15.9%) and the Americas (excluding the United States) (+19.7%) were the primary contributors to the year-over-year rise in overseas-resident arrivals in December,” it said.
“The top three countries of residence for overseas visitors were the United Kingdom (59,600), France (52,700) and Mexico (47,200), accounting for 31.3% of all overseas arrivals in Canada in December.”
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