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- calendar_today October 13, 2026
International Arrivals to Canada Increase in September 2026
Canada recorded 5.3 million international arrivals by air and automobile in September 2026, marking a 9.5% rise compared to September 2025, according to preliminary data. This total includes return trips by Canadian residents alongside arrivals by both US and overseas residents.
Growth in Canadian Resident Return Trips
Canadian resident trips returning from the United States and other overseas countries reached 2.9 million in September 2026, a 5.6% increase year-over-year. Specifically, returns from the United States by air and automobile totaled 1.9 million, up 6.8% from September 2025, and marked the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year growth. However, compared to September 2024, automobile return trips from the US were 31.1% lower and air return trips were 18.7% lower.
Return trips from overseas countries by air accounted for 1.0 million arrivals, showing a 3.2% growth over the previous year. The busiest day for Canadian resident return trips from abroad was Labour Day, Monday, September 7, with 195,100 returns, while the slowest day was Wednesday, September 23, with 69,200 returns.
US Resident Trips to Canada Continue Upward Trend
US resident trips to Canada by air and automobile grew by 17.2% in September 2026, totaling 1.8 million trips. This marks the eighth straight month of increases compared to the previous year. The growth is partly attributed to the changing date of Labour Day, which fell one week later in 2026 than in 2025.
Of these trips, 1.3 million were made by automobile (up 19.5%) and 537,400 by air (up 12.2%). The busiest day for US resident arrivals in September was Friday, September 4, with 124,200 entries, while the lowest was Tuesday, September 29, with 37,800 entries.
Increase in Overseas Resident Arrivals
Arrivals by overseas residents to Canada saw a 7.3% increase in September 2026 compared to the previous year. Overseas air travel arrivals reached 555,500 (a 7.5% increase), while arrivals by automobile were 56,200 (a 6.0% increase). The highest daily arrival for overseas residents was on Friday, September 18 (24,500), with the lowest on Tuesday, September 29 (14,700).
Data Developments: NEXUS Highway Travellers and Gordie Howe Bridge
Recent enhancements by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at land ports have enabled the integration of data for NEXUS Highway travellers into the leading indicator release for international arrivals. This integration is expected to continue through 2026 and into early 2027. Users should exercise caution in comparing 2026 data with previous years due to these changes.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit opened on July 27, 2026. Preliminary arrival data for this crossing is now available in select data tables.
Data Sources and Next Steps
Arrivals by air are recorded using Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK) data, which captured 86.2% of all commercial air arrivals in 2025. Automobile arrivals through land ports are tracked by the Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) system and NEXUS Highway data, capturing 87.9% of all automobile entries in 2025.
The next release of international arrivals data, covering October 2026, is scheduled for November 12, 2026. For further details on travel data and related resources, readers can consult the official Statistics Canada website or contact their information centers.
Source: statcan.gc.ca.
