Travel between Canada and other countries, October 2025
Released: 2025-12-22
2,363,398
October 2025
4.9% 
(12-month change)
3,335,069
October 2025
-18.4% 
(12-month change)
2,528,198
October 2025
1.7%
(monthly change)
3,573,998
October 2025
2.3%
(monthly change)
Highlights
In October, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States was down 26.3% year over year, while the number of trips to Canada by US residents was up 3.0%.
In October, the number of trips to Canada by overseas residents (+11.7%) and Canadian-resident return trips from overseas (+9.1%) increased compared with the same month a year earlier.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad was up 2.3% in October. Meanwhile, US-resident arrivals (+1.5%) and overseas-resident arrivals (+2.5%) both recorded an increase.
Trips to Canada by US residents increase for the first time in eight months
In October, US-resident trips to Canada (1.8 million) increased 3.0% from the same month in 2024, breaking the eight-month trend of year-over-year declines.
Arrivals by automobile (1.2 million) were unchanged year over year in October 2025, with over half (53.5%) of these arrivals being same-day trips. Meanwhile, air arrivals (448,000) increased 6.3% year over year. The number of US residents who disembarked in Canada from cruise ships was 122,800 in October, up 22.2% from the same month in 2024.
Chart 1
Year-over-year change in the number of US visitors entering Canada, by province or territory of arrival, October 2025
Trips to Canada by overseas residents continue to increase
In October, 549,000 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up 11.7% from the same month a year earlier, with the majority (81.5%) of arrivals by air.
An increase in arrivals from Europe (+10.5%) and Asia (+14.9%)—the top two source markets for overseas visitors to Canada—was the primary contributor to the year-over-year rise in overseas-resident arrivals in October.
The top three countries of residence for overseas visitors were France (66,200), the United Kingdom (65,200) and China (38,700), accounting for 31.0% of all overseas arrivals in Canada in October.
Chart 2
Overseas visitors entering Canada, by continent of residence, January 2019 to October 2025
Trips abroad by Canadian residents continue to decrease
Canadian residents returned from 3.3 million trips abroad in October, down 18.4% compared with October 2024.
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile declined 30.2% to 1.6 million in October 2025. Of these trips, 67.5% were same-day trips.
In October, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by air from the United States (685,100) decreased 15.1% compared with the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile, Canadian-resident return trips by air from overseas countries (997,500) were up 9.6% compared with October 2024.
Chart 3
Canadian residents returning to Canada from trips abroad, October 2024 to October 2025
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, see the Note to readers).
Trips to Canada by US residents increase
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the overall number of arrivals in Canada by US residents was up 1.5% in October 2025. Increases in arrivals by air (+3.3%) and by automobile (+0.7%) were the main contributors to the overall monthly rise.
Trips to Canada by overseas residents are up
In October, the number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada increased 2.5% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, led by residents of Europe (+2.6%) and the Americas (excluding the United States) (+6.8%). By volume, visitors from South Korea (+12.4%) and France (+2.5%) were the largest contributors to the overall monthly increase.
Chart 4
Overseas visitors entering Canada, by continent of residence, January 2019 to October 2025, seasonally adjusted data
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad increase
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad rose 2.3% in October, driven by an increase in Canadian-resident return trips from overseas by air (+4.7%).
Chart 5
Non-resident visitors entering Canada and Canadian residents returning to Canada, January 2019 to October 2025
Focus on Canada and the United States
In October 2025, Canadian residents returned from 2.3 million trips to the United States, representing a 26.3% decrease from the same month in 2024 and accounting for 70.1% of all trips abroad taken by Canadian residents during the month.
Meanwhile, US residents took 1.8 million trips to Canada in October 2025, up 3.0% from the same month in 2024 and representing 76.8% of all non-resident trips to Canada in October 2025. October marked a break from the eight consecutive months of year-over-year decline.
For more data and insights on areas touched by the socio-economic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.
Explore tourism data
To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, see Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
For more current estimates of international arrivals to Canada, please see the release, "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada."
For other tourism-related information, see the Travel and Tourism Statistics portal.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise specified, this release uses unadjusted (raw) data.
Seasonal adjustment
Tourism is influenced by seasonal effects (e.g., holidays such as Canada Day and Thanksgiving) and calendar effects (e.g., number of weekends in a month). Seasonally adjusted data are data that have been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences to allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Revisions
Seasonally adjusted data for January to September 2025 have been revised. No revisions were made to the unadjusted data.
Integrated Primary Inspection Line – Air integration
In 2025, Statistics Canada integrated information about travellers processed through the Canada Border Services Agency's Integrated Primary Inspection Line - Air (IPIL Air) system into the Frontier Counts. Users are advised to exercise caution when comparing 2025 reference months with previous years since published data before 2025 do not include IPIL Air.
For users who would like to make year-over-year comparisons, selected supplementary time series with IPIL Air data for reference year 2024 are available, upon request.
Canada Post service disruptions
Statistics Canada will monitor the impacts of Canada Post service disruptions on future releases.
Next release
"Travel between Canada and other countries" for November 2025 will be released on January 23, 2026.
Products
The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (71-607-X), is available.
The article "Recent changes in Canadian-resident travel to the United States" is available.
Episode 27 of the Eh Sayers podcast, "Canadians just aren't California Dreamin' these days," is available.
The infographic "Tourism activity, 2024" 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).
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