Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, March 2023
Released: 2023-04-13
Highlights
The number of international arrivals to Canada—non-resident trips and returning Canadian-resident trips—more than doubled from March 2022 to March 2023, but has not yet reached arrivals recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
In March 2023, the 498,500 non-resident arrivals from abroad at Canadian airports equipped with electronic sensors almost doubled those that arrived in March 2022.
In March 2023, US-resident trips to Canada through land ports with electronic sensors totalled 693,800, which is 427,200 more trips taken than in March 2022.
In March 2023, the 2.0 million Canadian-resident trips returning from abroad via kiosk-equipped airports nearly doubled the total from March 2022.
Compared with March 2022, there were over 1 million more Canadian-resident return trips—for a total of 1.7 million—from the United States through land ports with electronic sensors in March 2023.
To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
This release provides a first glimpse of international arrivals to Canada in March 2023. Complete counts for the March reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries," on May 23, 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 requirement was removed on March 17, 2023.
Non-resident trips to Canada by air
Non-resident arrivals from overseas countries (247,900) and the United States (250,600) at Canadian airports equipped with primary inspection kiosks (PIKs) totalled 498,500 in March 2023, almost double the 262,400 trips recorded in March 2022.
The number of non-resident arrivals by air in March 2023 includes Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, which makes 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, March, 2019 to 2023
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In March 2023, US residents took 693,800 trips to Canada, crossing by automobile through land ports equipped with the automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) application. This was more than twice the number of trips (266,600) taken in March 2022 and almost four-fifths (79.2%) the number of arrivals by automobile during the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.
Chart 2
United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, March, 2019 to 2023
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In March 2023, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad through airports equipped with PIKs was 2.0 million, nearly double the number of arrivals recorded in March 2022 (1.1 million).
Note again that March 2023 includes arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 (see Note to readers). However, excluding Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, Canadian airports exceeded their 2019 pre-pandemic volume of returning Canadian residents by 9.1% in March 2023.
Chart 3
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, March, 2019 to 2023
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In March 2023, there were 1.7 million Canadian-resident return trips from the United States, crossing by automobile via IPIL-equipped land ports, increasing by over 1 million trips from March 2022 (687,400).
March 2023 recovered almost three-quarters (74.8%) of the 2.3 million trips recorded for the same month in 2019, nearly identical to the 74.5% recovery rate posted in February 2023.
Chart 4
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, March, 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.
Selective estimates from the Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker for January 2023 are available upon request.
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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