Canadian travel expenditures to the United States declined significantly during 2025, with spending falling to $18.8 billion from $22.1 billion in the prior year, according to data released by Statistics Canada. The $3.3 billion reduction in US travel spending coincided with the change in the American administration in early 2025 and the subsequent implementation of policy initiatives focused on domestic priorities.
Rather than curtailing international travel overall, Canadian residents reallocated their vacation spending toward alternative destinations. Spending on non-US international travel increased by $3.6 billion, reaching $22.8 billion in 2025. Travel to European destinations grew by approximately 14 percent compared with the previous year, while visits to Asian countries increased by roughly 17 percent.
The decline in northbound travel from the United States to Canada mirrored the reduction in outbound Canadian travel to the US. Return trips from the US to Canada by vehicle and aircraft dropped by approximately one quarter in 2025 relative to 2024 figures. July 2025 marked the steepest declines, with border crossings falling by roughly one-third compared to the same period in the previous year. Statistics Canada characterized the sustained drop in border crossings throughout the year as the most significant on record, noting that comparable reductions exceeding 30 percent have only occurred once since digital record-keeping began in 1972—following the September 2001 attacks.
The trend has continued into the current year, with Statistics Canada reporting that leisure travel to the US remains depressed. Return trips from the US to Canada have stabilized at levels comparable to late 2025, when declines between October and December reached 27 percent. Agency officials indicated the data demonstrates a sustained preference shift among Canadian residents away from the United States as a travel destination.
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