TORONTO —Statistics Canada has released its cross-border travel data for May 2026.

Time will tell if the latest numbers indicate a real start to a recovery, or a blip, given that May numbers include Victoria Day long weekend travel.

The takeaway: the increase in overall return trips from the U.S. in May 2026 marked both the second consecutive month of year-over-year increases, and the second increase since December 2024.

Canadian-resident return trips by air from the U.S. were down, by 5.5%. But return trips by car were up, by 15.1%, and that fuelled a 9.5% YOY increase in overall Canadian resident return trips from the U.S. in May 2026, for a total of 1.9 million.

Since we’re now more than a year into the cross-border Canada-to-U.S. declines, the year-over-year differentials are narrowing amid the ‘new normal.’ Comparing the number of trips in May 2026 with May 2024, there’s a 29% decline, fuelled by the drop in car trips (down 28.7% in May 2026 vs. May 2024) and air (down 28.4% in May 2026 vs. May 2024).

Back to 2026 vs. 2025, outbound international travel continues to boom. Canadian-resident return trips from overseas countries showed another increase, by 3% for a total of 1.1 million, compared to May 2025.