Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, February 2023
Released: 2023-03-13
Highlights
The number of international arrivals to Canada—non-resident trips and returning Canadian-resident trips—tripled from February 2022 but have not yet reached arrivals recorded in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2023, the 422,400 non-resident arrivals from abroad at Canadian airports equipped with electronic sensors more than doubled those that arrived the same month in 2022.
In February 2023, US-resident trips to Canada through land ports with electronic sensors totalled 618,900, over 428,700 more trips taken than in February 2022.
In February 2023, the 1.6 million Canadian-resident trips returning from abroad via kiosk-equipped airports almost tripled that from the same month in 2022.
Compared with February 2022, there were almost 900,400 more Canadian-resident return trips—for a total of 1.3 million—to the US through land ports with electronic sensors in February 2023.
This release provides a first glimpse of international arrivals to Canada in February 2023. Complete counts for the February reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries," on April 21, 2023.
Travel requirements and advisories
On January 5, 2023, the Government of Canada implemented the requirement of a negative COVID-19 test for travellers two years of age and older arriving from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao. This restriction remained in effect during February.
Non-resident trips to Canada by air
Non-resident arrivals from overseas countries (224,000) and the US (198,400) at Canadian airports equipped with primary inspection kiosks (PIKs) totalled 422,400 in February 2023, more than double the 169,300 trips recorded in February 2022.
The number of non-resident arrivals by air in February 2023 includes Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, which make up a sizeable portion of total arrivals. The PIK system was implemented at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 in June 2021 (see Note to readers).
Chart 1
Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, February, 2019 to 2023
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In February, US residents took 618,900 trips to Canada, crossing by automobile through land ports equipped with the automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) application. This was more than three times the number of trips taken in February 2022 and remains over three-quarters (78.1%) of such arrivals by automobile during the same month in 2020, before the pandemic.
Chart 2
United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, February, 2019 to 2023
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In February, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by air using airports equipped with PIKs was 1.6 million, almost triple the number of arrivals recorded in February 2022 (576,900).
Note again that February 2023 includes arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 (see Note to readers).
Excluding Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, Canadian airports recovered 90.1% of their 2020 pre-pandemic volume in February 2023.
Chart 3
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, February, 2019 to 2023
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In February, there were 1.3 million Canadian-resident return trips from the United States crossing by automobile via IPIL-equipped land ports, increasing by almost 900,400 trips from February 2022 (353,300).
February 2023 recovered almost three-quarters (74.5%) of the 1.7 million trips recorded for the same month in 2020, down from the 83.1% recovery reached in January 2023.
Chart 4
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, February, 2019 to 2023
Note to readers
Counts of arrivals entering the country by commercial aircraft are from the primary inspection kiosk (PIK) system. PIKs were deployed at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 on June 22, 2021, and, as of July 2021, these arrivals are included in the total counts, which has consequently improved coverage. In 2022, PIKs captured approximately 92% of all commercial air arrivals.
Counts of arrivals entering the country by automobile through land ports equipped with the automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) system represent a subset of US-resident trips and Canadian-resident return trips by automobile. In 2022, IPIL land ports captured approximately 89% of all automobile entries. However, vehicles crossing the border with NEXUS authorization continue to be excluded.
In January 2022, some IPIL ports switched mode from land to water. In 2019, arrivals at these ports accounted for a small fraction (0.7%) of all arrivals entering or returning to Canada by automobile.
In January 2023, the unit of measurement in the charts was updated to 'number of trips' to more closely align with Frontier Counts concepts. No changes were made to how the data are collected and disseminated.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, and methods for Frontier Counts, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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