Is the U.S. travel boycott over? More Canadians journey south of the border for the second month in a row

A sign marking the international border between the United States and Canada at Peace Arch Historical State Park in Blaine, Washington. Photo by JASON REDMOND /AFP via Getty Images

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After 15 months of declines in Canadians travelling to the United States, new Statistics Canada data suggests the U.S. travel boycott is coming to an end.

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In May, Canadian return trips from the U.S. totalled 1.9 million, up 9.5 per cent from the same month in 2025 and the second consecutive month of year-over-year growth.

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The increase was driven by a rise in return trips by automobile (+15.1 per cent), while return trips from the U.S. by air in May remained below levels from the year before, falling 5.5 per cent last month.

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Canadian travel to the U.S. first began to rebound in April 2026, when return trips by automobile rose by 5.8 per cent compared to a year earlier. Though return trips by air had fallen 8.1 per cent, the figures meant overall Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. rose by 1.4 per cent that month compared to April 2025.

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April marked the first year-over-year increase in overall return trips from the United States since December 2024. Taken together, the April and May figures suggest that the 15-month boycott of travel to the U.S. by Canadians is starting to turn around.

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Meanwhile, a survey from March 2026 suggested that one demographic group in Canada is embracing U.S. travel this year.

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The 2026 Smart Traveller Survey, which was run by The Harris Poll in March on behalf of Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA), found that 45 per cent of Gen Z Canadians (born between 1997 and 2012) say they’re likely to travel to the U.S. next year, compared to just 8 per cent of Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964).

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Among Canadians who are travelling this year, nearly two‑thirds (61 per cent) of Gen Z respondents said the U.S. is on their itinerary, compared to 48 per cent of Millennials (born 1981-1996), 28 per cent of Gen X (1965-1980), and 14 per cent of Boomers.

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That said, the survey also found that 36 per cent of Canadians are choosing domestic destinations over international travel, while Europe has overtaken the U.S. as the top international destination.

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And though Gen Z said the biggest barriers to travel to the U.S. were cost (36 per cent) and a lack of paid time off (22 per cent), the majority of Boomers (51 per cent) cited political tensions as the biggest deterrent to cross-border travel.

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