Toronto 
International travel to Canada continued to slow at the end of the year, according to preliminary data on air and automobile arrivals in Statistics Canada’s latest release on international arrivals.
Here are the highlights:
- Overall arrivals decline: Preliminary data show 4.6 million international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile in December 2025, combining returning Canadian residents and non-residents. This represented a 12.7% decrease from December 2024 and marked the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
- Non-resident air travel softens: Non-resident air arrivals totalled 752,700, down 1.1% year over year. The decline was largely due to an 8.9% drop in arrivals from U.S. residents, while overseas arrivals rose 6.6%. The busiest day for non-resident air travel was Saturday, December 20, with 18,000 arrivals from the United States and 25,800 from overseas, 97.6% above the average for other Saturdays in the month.
- Canadian air returns show mixed trends: Canadian residents returning by air from abroad made 1.6 million trips in December, a marginal decrease of 0.1%. Returns from overseas countries increased 10.4% to 1.1 million, while returns from the United States fell 18.7% to 470,700. The highest daily average occurred from December 30 to 31, with 71,500 arrivals, while the lowest count was recorded on Friday, December 19, at 35,200.
- Automobile travel from the U.S. declines: U.S. residents made 981,800 automobile trips to Canada in December, down 9.0% year over year, continuing an 11-month downward trend. Peak cross-border activity occurred from December 26 to 27, averaging 67,300 arrivals per day.
- Canadian travel to the U.S. continues to fall: Canadian residents returning by automobile totalled 1.3 million trips, a sharp 30.7% decline and the 12th consecutive monthly decrease. The highest volume was recorded on Sunday, December 28, with 73,800 arrivals.
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