The chill in Canadians travelling to the U.S. continued to thaw a bit in June, while the World Cup boosted foreign visits, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
In a report Thursday, the national statistical agency said the number of trips to the U.S. was up by 5% in June, compared to the same month a year ago — marking the third straight month of upticks in cross-border travel.
The increase all came from trips by car, which were up by 7.6% in the month, while air travel was down by 1.2% from a year ago.
Despite the rebound in cross-border travel compared to 2025, the number of trips to the U.S. in June were still 24.6% lower than they were in the same month in 2024, Statistics Canada noted.
Overall, travel was up by 3.6% in June, as the number of Canadians that travelled overseas also ticked up by 0.2% in the month.
At the same time, trips to Canada by overseas residents increased by 3.4% in June — a trend that was impacted by the World Cup, which included games in Toronto and Vancouver.
The number of visitors from the 15 countries involved with World Cup games in Canada jumped by 28.6% compared with June 2025, the agency reported.
Arrivals from Europe were up 7.4% in the month, travellers from Central and South America rose by 8.5%, and visitors from New Zealand and Australia increased by 16.2%.
In a research note, Desjardins Group said, “With World Cup activity continuing into July, some of the tourism tailwind could have persisted into the start of the third quarter.”
Additionally, an extra weekend in August, and the late timing for Labour Day this day, “will effectively extend the summer travel season for many families, providing a further modest tailwind to summer tourism activity.”
Overall, strong demand for domestic tourism is expected to boost spending in the sector this summer, Desjardins said.
“Longer trips and higher spending per visit should continue to support the tourism sector, with domestic demand remaining the key driver of growth despite higher fuel costs and ongoing Canada–U.S. trade uncertainty,” it noted.