More Canadians opted for vacations outside the U.S. this summer, data suggest

The vehicle drop-off area for U.S.-bound flights at the Ottawa International Airport on Aug. 9, 2025. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

New data from Statistics Canada show a marked increase in the number of Canadians returning to Canada via the Ottawa International Airport from non-U.S. destinations this summer compared to last year.

Figures for June 1 to Aug. 31, 2025, show a 71 per cent jump in the number of Canadians returning to Ottawa by air from places other than the United States compared with 2024. At the same time, the number of Canadians returning to Ottawa from the U.S. by air fell 11.8 per cent year over year this summer.

In August alone, there was an 87.6 per cent increase in non-U.S. travel, based on return flights to Ottawa, and an 11.3 per cent decrease in return flights from the U.S.

Trend of decreased land border crossings continues

The number of Canadian-plated vehicles returning to Canada from the U.S. at eastern Ontario border crossings continues to be well below comparable figures in 2024. Statistics Canada data show there was a 30.4 per cent decrease in land crossings at the Cornwall, Lansdowne, and Prescott crossings in August 2025 compared with the year prior.

Statistics Canada data only account for trips from the U.S. into Canada. Statistics about the number of Canadians crossing into the U.S. comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and figures for August are not yet available.

Many Canadians have been boycotting travel to the U.S. over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of annexing Canada as the “51st state” and his regular economic threats, as well as over broader concerns about potentially being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Nationwide, Statistics Canada says return trips from the U.S. by land fell 34 per cent and air travel dropped 25 per cent in August, compared with the same time last year.

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