Travel between Canada and other countries, January 2022
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Released: 2022-03-23
Highlights
The number of international arrivals to Canada increased year over year in January 2022, but remained well below levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.
While residents of overseas countries made more than twice the trips to Canada in January 2022 than in January 2021, it was under one-quarter (21.8%) of the number of trips recorded in January 2020.
Likewise, US residents made two and a half times more trips in January 2022 compared with the same month in January 2021, yet less than one-fifth (18.2%) of those in January 2020.
Compared with the same month in 2021, Canadians made almost three times the number of trips home from visiting abroad in January 2022, but this was just over one-quarter (26.0%) of the number of trips recorded in January 2020.
Border restrictions return
In late November 2021, the World Health Organization declared a new variant of concern, Omicron, prompting Canada to re-implement some travel restrictions. On December 15, the Government of Canada advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside Canada and, on December 21, required all travellers entering Canada to provide a negative COVID-19 molecular test.
As of January 15, 2022, certain groups of foreign nationals who had been exempt from this requirement must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada. This includes essential service providers, such as truck drivers, as well as individuals travelling to reunite with family.
Overseas visitors up in January
The number of residents arriving in Canada from overseas countries was 79,700 in January 2022. While more than two times the number in January 2021, it was still less than one-quarter (21.8%) of overseas residents who entered Canada during the same month in 2020.
The number of visitors from Canada's major markets increased with European visitors jumping from 10,800 in January 2021 to 33,400 in January 2022 and those from Asia increasing from 13,600 to 18,900 over the same period. Both remained below January 2020, before the pandemic, as did arrivals from other overseas countries.
More US residents crossing into Canada
In January, US residents took 218,600 trips to Canada, over two and a half times as many as in January 2021 (86,500) but less than one-fifth (18.2%) of the 1.2 million such trips taken in January 2020.
Of the total arrivals in January, 157,300 were by automobile, with just over half (50.6%) same-day returns (79,600), a jump from the total of 73,900 in 2021. However, the January 2022 total was less than one-fifth (18.1%) of the 867,200 such arrivals before the pandemic in January 2020.
Canadian trips to US increasing
Canadian residents returned from 690,200 trips to the United States in January 2022, more than two and a half times the trips in January 2021 (265,000), but far below the 3.1 million such trips in January 2020.
Of the total returning Canadian trips, 422,800 were by automobile, with over half (56.9%) being same-day.
In January, while the number of return air trips by Canadian residents rose more than three and a half times from 2021 to 261,100 in 2022, this was over one-quarter (27.9%) of such trips from the same month in 2020, before the pandemic.
More Canadians return from overseas
In January, 463,700 Canadian residents returned from visiting overseas, almost three times the number in January 2021 (160,500), but just over one-third (34.1%) of the 1.4 million returning Canadians observed in January 2020.
Note to readers
The Frontier Counts program has undergone a redesign, impacting the scope of this release.
Statistics Canada's Frontier Counts program uses administrative data from the Canada Border Services Agency on all international travellers who have been cleared for entry or re-entry into Canada.
Starting with this January 2022 release, all estimates including those in Table 1 are based on unadjusted counts only but seasonally adjusted data continue to be available online in Table 24-10-0051-01 and Table 24-10-0054-01.
Seasonally adjusted data from January to December 2021 have been revised. No revisions were made to data that were not seasonally adjusted.
Elements of Statistics Canada's Frontier Counts program have recently been modified. For example, travellers arriving by commercial air with a trip duration of a year or more and workers are now excluded from the visitor counts. Although these changes should not have a significant impact on total estimates, readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources and methods for Frontier Counts as well as the explanatory notes for the online tables, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Overseas countries refer to countries other than Canada or the United States.
A Canadian resident visitor is a Canadian resident traveller whose trip purpose outside Canada is related to tourism and whose trip duration is less than one year.
A non-resident visitor is a traveller to Canada whose country of residence is not Canada, whose trip purpose is related to tourism and whose trip duration is less than one year.
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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