Travel between Canada and other countries, March 2023
Released: 2023-05-23
Highlights
In March 2023, the overall number of non-resident visitors to Canada and returning Canadian residents remained at over three-quarters (77.0%) of the level seen in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2023, residents of overseas countries took 281,400 trips to Canada, and US residents took 1.1 million trips to Canada. Canadian residents returned from 4.2 million trips abroad.
To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
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.
Overseas visitors to Canada
In March 2023, 281,400 overseas residents arrived in Canada, nearly doubling the number of arrivals in March 2022 (148,900) and reaching over four-fifths (81.3%) of that during the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.
Over two-fifths (114,700) of overseas visitors arrived from Europe in March 2023, up from 68,800 in March 2022 and reaching four-fifths (83.7%) of the level seen in March 2019. In March 2023, there were 72,400 overseas visitors from Asia, over half (58.5%) of the number of arrivals in March 2019.
US-resident trips to Canada
In March 2023, US residents took 1.1 million trips to Canada, almost two and a half times those taken in March 2022 (465,200) and three-quarters (74.4%) of those taken during the same month in 2019.
Of the total US arrivals in March 2023, 779,400 were by automobile and just over half (52.6%) of these were same-day returns. The total number of arrivals by automobile was two and a half times that observed in March 2022 (310,300) and reached over three-quarters (76.3%) of that in March 2019.
Canadian-resident trips to the United States
Canadian residents returned from 3.3 million trips to the United States in March 2023, two and a half times the number taken in March 2022 (1.3 million) and 82.6% of the level from the same month in 2019.
Of the total return trips by Canadian residents in March 2023, 2.0 million trips were by automobile, almost two-thirds (61.1%) of which were same-day. The number of return trips by air was 1.3 million, more than double the 549,300 such trips in March 2022 and 14.0% higher than the same month in 2019. This was the seventh consecutive month it exceeded the pre-pandemic level since September 2022.
Canadian residents travelling overseas
In March 2023, Canadian residents took 915,200 return trips overseas. This was a 33.6% increase from the same month in 2022 and corresponded to almost two-thirds (63.3%) of such trips observed in March 2019, before the pandemic.
Note to readers
Complete Frontier Counts data are temporarily unavailable. All published data for March 2023 in tables 24-10-0050-01, 24-10-0051-01, 24-10-0053-01, 24-10-0054-01 and 24-10-0055-01 are preliminary estimates. These tables will be revised during a subsequent release when all March 2023 data become available.
Starting with the January 2022 release, all estimates, including those in Table 1, are based on unadjusted counts only. Seasonally adjusted data continue to be available online in tables 24-10-0051-01 and 24-10-0054-01.
Seasonally adjusted data for January 2022 to February 2023 have been revised. No revisions were made to data that were not seasonally adjusted.
For more current estimates of international arrivals to Canada, please see the "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada" for the April 2023 reference month.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, methods and summary of changes for Frontier Counts, as well as explanatory notes for 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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