Travel between Canada and other countries, June 2024

Released: 2024-08-23

Highlights

In June, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada represented 93.7% of the number observed in June 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. US residents took 2.9 million trips to Canada in June 2024, and residents of overseas countries took 745,900 trips.

The number of returning Canadian residents reached 90.0% of the level recorded in June 2019 as Canadian residents returned from 3.8 million trips abroad in June 2024.

Using seasonally adjusted data, compared with May, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada (-2.0%) and returning Canadian-resident arrivals (-1.5%) both decreased in June.

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 June, US residents took 2.9 million trips to Canada, up 9.2% from the 2.7 million trips taken during the same month in 2023. This corresponds to 96.6% of the level observed in June 2019 (3.0 million), before the pandemic.

Over half (58.9%) of US residents visiting Canada arrived by automobile (1.7 million arrivals) in June 2024, and 44.2% of those were same-day trips. Arrivals by automobile were up 8.6% year over year and represented 90.2% of such trips recorded in June 2019. US residents also took trips crossing over Canadian land borders in June 2024 by other means, such as by bus (88,500), as pedestrians (27,300), or by train (26,400).

Air arrivals (716,200) constituted nearly one-quarter (24.7%) of all trips to Canada taken by US residents in June. Those arrivals increased 10.9% from the same month in 2023 and exceeded the number of trips taken in June 2019 by 4.5%.

Additionally, 280,800 trips to Canada by US residents were taken on a cruise ship or other commercial boat in June 2024.

In June, the most frequented points of entry by US residents entering Canada by automobile were near Niagara (including Niagara Falls and Fort Erie), in Southwestern Ontario (including Windsor and Sarnia), and near Vancouver (including Douglas and Pacific Highway in Surrey). Together, these were the points of entry for 65.2% of all such trips.

In June, 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 90.9% of all US-resident arrivals in Canada by air during the month.

Trips to Canada by overseas residents

In June, 745,900 overseas residents arrived in Canada, an increase of 6.3% from the 701,700 arrivals observed in the same month in 2023. The number of arrivals in June 2024 made up 83.9% of the 889,100 arrivals recorded in June 2019. Over three-quarters (79.7%) of the overseas residents arriving in June 2024 flew into Canada (594,800 arrivals).

Together, the top three countries of residence of overseas visitors—the United Kingdom (96,800), India (67,400), and France (54,700)—represented 29.3% of all overseas arrivals in Canada in June.

In June, overseas residents arrived in Canada most frequently at airports located in Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary, which welcomed a combined 96.4% of all overseas-resident arrivals by air.

Trips abroad by Canadian residents

Canadian residents returned from 3.8 million trips abroad in June, an increase of 12.0% from June 2023 (3.4 million) and representing 90.0% of such trips taken during the same month in 2019 (4.3 million).

Trips to the United States by automobile (2.3 million) in June 2024 represented 59.0% of the total trips taken abroad by Canadian residents, and 66.1% of those automobile trips to the United States were same-day trips. Canadian residents returning by automobile from a visit to the United States increased by 11.4% year over year and represented 83.4% of such trips taken in June 2019.

In June 2024, Canadian residents flew back to Canada from 1.5 million trips abroad, which represented over one-third (38.0%) of the total trips taken by Canadian residents. Air arrivals in June were 13.0% higher than the same month a year earlier and exceeded the number of such arrivals recorded in June 2019 by 3.1%.

The busiest points of entry for Canadian residents returning from the United States by automobile in June 2024, accounting for a combined 57.5% of such trips, were near Vancouver (including Douglas and Pacific Highway in Surrey), in Southwestern Ontario (including Windsor and Sarnia), and near Niagara (including Niagara Falls and Fort Erie).

The busiest airports for Canadian residents returning home from abroad in June were in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Combined, these airports represented 93.7% 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 the Note to readers).

In June, the number of arrivals in Canada by US residents decreased 0.5% compared with May. US-resident arrivals in Canada by air in June decreased month over month by 5.2%, while the number of US residents arriving in Canada by automobile increased by 0.3%. US-resident same-day automobile trips to Canada decreased 1.2% during this period, whereas overnight automobile trips increased by 1.7%. US residents entering Canada by modes other than air and automobile (e.g., bus, ferry, and train) increased 5.6%.

The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada in June decreased 7.2% compared with the previous month, due to decreases in arrivals from Europe (-9.6%), Asia (-7.4%), and the Americas (excluding the United States) (-2.3%).

Arrivals by residents of Europe—the largest overseas market, with 42.9% of the total overseas arrivals in Canada—decreased 9.6% from May to June, including decreases in visitors from Germany (-17.5%), France (-9.7%), and the United Kingdom (-7.7%).

In June, arrivals of residents from Asia—the second-largest overseas market, with 30.5% of the total overseas arrivals in Canada—decreased 7.4% from May, due in part to a decline in visitors from India (-16.2%), which had the most total arrivals, as well as from South Korea (-7.9%), and China (-1.3%).

Arrivals by residents of the Americas (excluding the United States), which ranked as the third-largest overseas market in June with 16.1% of the total overseas arrivals, decreased 2.3% from May, due to decreases in visitors from Mexico (-5.2%) and Colombia (-0.4%). Visitors from Brazil increased 1.9% in June.

Canadian residents returning from a trip abroad in June decreased 1.5% from May. Canadian-resident arrivals from overseas countries decreased by 4.3% month over month. While there was an overall decrease in Canadian-resident trips to the United States (-0.7%) in June, an increase in trips by air (+2.0%) helped to partially offset the decrease in trips by automobile (-1.7%) and by other modes (-1.4%).

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

Chart 2 
Canadian residents returning to Canada from abroad, June 2018 to June 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).