Travel between Canada and other countries, April 2024

Released: 2024-06-21

Highlights

In April, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 91.1% of the number observed in April 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. US residents took 1.5 million trips to Canada in April 2024, and residents of overseas countries embarked on 410,700 trips.

The number of returning Canadian residents reached 89.6% of the level recorded in April 2019 as Canadian residents returned from 4.5 million trips abroad in April 2024.

Using seasonally adjusted data, compared with March, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada increased 7.5% in April and returning Canadian-resident arrivals increased 0.5%.

To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.

Trips to Canada by US residents

In April, US residents took 1.5 million trips to Canada, up 13.5% from the 1.3 million trips taken during the same month in 2023 and reaching 92.9% of the level observed in April 2019 (1.6 million), before the pandemic.

Over two-thirds (69.4%) of US residents visiting Canada arrived by automobile (accounting for 1.0 million arrivals) in April 2024, and over half (52.2%) of those were same-day trips. Arrivals by automobile were up 10.3% year over year and represented 92.9% of such trips recorded in April 2019. US residents also took trips crossing over Canadian land borders in April 2024 by other means, such as by bus (36,700) or by train (6,300), or as pedestrians (14,100).

Air arrivals (338,900) constituted 23.0% of all trips to Canada taken by US residents in April. Those arrivals increased 16.8% from the same month in 2023 and reached 84.0% of such trips taken in April 2019.

In April 2024, the most frequented points of entry by US residents entering Canada by automobile were near Niagara (including Niagara Falls and Fort Erie), near Vancouver (including Douglas and Pacific Highway in Surrey), and in Southwestern Ontario (including Windsor and Sarnia). Together, these were the points of entry for 71.2% of all such trips. On April 8, a total solar eclipse occurred over eastern Canada. To see how the eclipse affected daily traffic between Canada and the US along the path of totality, please see the "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada" release for the April reference month.

In April, the busiest points of entry by air were in Toronto (including Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport), Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary. Combined, these points of entry represented 92.6% of all US-resident arrivals by air in Canada.

Trips to Canada by overseas residents

In April, 410,700 overseas residents arrived in Canada, an increase of 10.0% from the 373,200 overseas arrivals observed in the same month in 2023. The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada in April 2024 made up 85.2% of the 482,300 arrivals recorded in April 2019. Most (82.7%) of the overseas residents arriving in April 2024 flew into Canada (339,500 arrivals).

The top three countries where overseas visitors to Canada resided in—the United Kingdom (54,000), France (44,700), and India (35,300)—together represented nearly one-third (32.6%) of all overseas arrivals in Canada during April. Arrivals from Mexico declined 41.9% year over year, dropping from second place to fourth with 32,400 arrivals in April, possibly attributable to more restrictive visa requirements for Mexican nationals seeking to enter Canada, introduced earlier this year.

In April, overseas residents arrived in Canada most frequently at airports located in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Combined, these airports welcomed 96.5% of all overseas-resident arrivals by air.

Trips abroad by Canadian residents

Canadian residents returned from 4.5 million trips abroad in April, increasing 9.7% from April 2023 (4.1 million) and reaching 89.6% of such trips taken during the same month in 2019 (5.0 million).

Trips to the United States by automobile (2.2 million) in April 2024 represented nearly half (49.5%) of the total trips taken by Canadian residents, and almost two-thirds (64.7%) of those were same-day trips. Canadian residents returning by automobile from a visit to the United States increased by 9.9% year over year in April and represented 80.9% of such trips taken in April 2019.

In April 2024, Canadian residents flew back to Canada from 2.2 million trips abroad, which represented almost half (48.4%) of the total trips taken by Canadian residents. Air arrivals in April were 8.9% higher compared with the same month a year earlier and exceeded such arrivals recorded in April 2019 by 0.5%.

The busiest points of entry for Canadian residents returning from the United States by automobile in April 2024 were near Vancouver, in Southwestern Ontario, and near Niagara. Combined, these points of entry represented 60.9% of such trips.

The busiest airports for Canadian residents returning home from abroad in April were in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Combined, these airports represented 86.4% of all air arrivals of Canadian residents from abroad.

Seasonally adjusted arrivals

Tourism is influenced by seasonal effects (e.g., actual seasons and holidays such as Canada Day and Thanksgiving) and by calendar effects (e.g., number of weekends in a month). All statistics in this section are based on seasonally adjusted data (for more information, please see Note to readers).

In April, the number of arrivals in Canada by US residents increased 8.5% compared with March, marking the third consecutive monthly increase of such trips. US-resident arrivals by air in April increased month over month by 9.1%, while the number of US residents arriving in Canada by automobile increased by 7.4%, with same-day automobile trips increasing 3.6% and overnight automobile trips rising by 10.9%. US residents entering Canada by modes other than air and automobile (e.g., bus, ferry, and train) increased 14.6% from March.

The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada in April increased 3.7% compared with the previous month. Arrivals by residents of Europe—the largest overseas market, with 47.2% of the total overseas arrivals—increased by 11.8%, bolstered by increased arrivals from the United Kingdom (+17.1%), France (+14.6%), and Germany (+10.9%).

In April, arrivals of residents from Asia, the second-largest overseas market, with 29.0% of the total overseas arrivals in Canada, saw a 4.5% increase from March. However, the number of visitors from India, the country which had the most arrivals in terms of total trips from Asia, decreased 3.0% in April, while the number of visitors from China (+14.2%) and Japan (+17.1%) increased.

The Americas (excluding the US) ranked as the third-largest overseas market, with 13.6% of the total overseas arrivals in April. This market decreased 17.5% from March, mainly attributable to the decline in the number of arrivals from Brazil (-57.6%) from the previous month.

Canadian residents returning from a trip abroad in April increased 0.5% from March. While Canadian-resident arrivals from overseas countries decreased month over month by 1.8% in April, the number of Canadian residents returning from trips to the United States increased by 1.2%. The latter explained by increases in overnight trips with such trips by air increasing 1.6% and those by automobile increasing 2.2%.

Chart 1 
Non-resident visitors entering Canada, April 2018 to April 2024

Chart 2 
Canadian residents returning to Canada from abroad, April 2018 to April 2024

Products

The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (Catalogue number71-607-X), is also available.

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).