| Sourced from 4 independent sources · no points in dispute |
brantfordexpositor.ca, btpm.org, financialpost.com, and tradersunion.com
Most key facts are confirmed by more than one independent source; a few details come from a single outlet.
9 key facts · 5 corroborated · none disputed
This summary is compiled from the independent sources listed above.
Canadian residents made 2.8 million return trips from the United States in July, a 10.1 per cent increase from a year earlier and a clear reversal after 15 consecutive months of declines.
The comeback was led by road travel. Canadians made 2.2 million return trips by automobile, up 12.6 per cent year over year, while air travel finally moved into positive territory after a lengthy slide.
Road trips lead the rebound
The July numbers point to a cross-border recovery built largely around the automobile. Of the 2.8 million return trips, 2.2 million were made by car. Canadian residents also made 26,400 return trips by cruise ship.
A newly available Windsor-Detroit crossing figured into the month’s traffic. According to the Financial Post, 23,500 returning Canadian residents and 19,600 U.S. residents used the Gordie Howe International Bridge during the five days it was open in July.
The Financial Post also reported that the bridge’s opening had been delayed beyond early June amid a Canada-U.S. dispute over compensation. Sources told Bloomberg that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick intervened to delay the opening and sought a renegotiation of toll-revenue terms.
Air travel breaks its streak
Return trips by air between Canada and the United States edged up 0.6 per cent from a year earlier to 567,000 in July. It was the first year-over-year increase since August 2023, ending a 34-month run of declines.
The air data aligns with signs of renewed cross-border business travel. According to BTPM.org, Flight Centre Travel Group Canada recorded a six per cent year-over-year increase in cross-border air bookings through August. August was the high point, with bookings 16.5 per cent above the same month a year earlier.
Amra Durakovic of Flight Centre Travel Group Canada said some businesses pulled back when tariffs were first imposed, but the travel need did not disappear.
“By the end of 2025, U.S. cross-border business bookings were basically flat for the year, and now they’re growing again,” Durakovic said. “So this really tells us that while many businesses may pause or rethink a trip, they still need to be in those key markets.”
She said Canadian businesses often need to travel south to reach customers, suppliers, investors and operations.
Travel rises in both directions
The movement was not limited to Canadians returning home. According to Traders Union, travel into Canada also increased in July, led by 3.5 million trips by U.S. residents, up 9.1 per cent from a year earlier.
That included 2.1 million automobile trips, up 7.5 per cent; 832,100 air arrivals, up 5.3 per cent; and 367,800 cruise-ship disembarkations, up 28.8 per cent.
The paired gains suggest a busier summer at the border after a period of retrenchment in Canadian travel to the United States.
Recovery still below 2024 level
July’s increase is substantial, but it does not erase the earlier drop. Canadian-resident return trips from the United States remained 25.6 per cent below their July 2024 level.
That leaves a mixed picture: a strong month for car travel, a modest but meaningful return to growth in air travel, and evidence that cross-border business bookings have strengthened. Yet the overall volume of Canadian return trips from the United States has not recovered to where it stood two summers ago.
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