International arrivals to Canada increased in June, with stronger automobile traffic from both Canadian and U.S. residents offsetting weaker air travel in several categories.
Preliminary figures show 5.5 million international arrivals by air and automobile during the month, up 3.6 percent from June 2025, including returning Canadian residents, U.S. visitors and travellers from overseas countries.
Canadian residents made 2.6 million return trips from abroad in June, an increase of 2.0 percent from a year earlier. Return trips from the United States rose 3.2 percent to 1.7 million, extending a year-over-year increase for a third consecutive month.
Canadian residents returning from the United States by automobile increased 5.2 percent, while return trips by air fell 3.8 percent.
Travel from overseas countries showed little change. Canadian residents made 873,183 return trips by air from destinations outside the United States, down 0.4 percent from June 2025.
Compared with June 2024, before travel patterns shifted, return trips from the United States were still down 28.7 percent. Automobile travel was 29.6 percent lower than two years earlier, while air travel remained 25.0 percent below June 2024 levels.
U.S. residents made 2.2 million trips to Canada in June, up 5.1 percent from the same month last year. It was the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year growth.
Most of the increase came from road crossings. Automobile arrivals reached 1.5 million, up 7.6 percent, while air arrivals slipped 0.3 percent to 663,900.
Overseas residents made about 674,300 trips to Canada, up 5.1 percent from June 2025. Air arrivals rose 5.8 percent to 620,800, while automobile arrivals declined 2.0 percent to 53,500.
The FIFA World Cup also contributed to higher overseas arrivals during the month. Vancouver and Toronto hosted 13 matches between June 11 and July 19. Statistics Canada said air arrivals from the 15 overseas countries whose teams played in Canada rose 32.5 percent, or about 29,500 travellers, compared with June 2025.
Australian arrivals peaked on June 12 before their team’s match in Vancouver. Arrivals from Panama reached their highest level on June 16, one day before the country’s match in Toronto, while German arrivals peaked on June 19 ahead of Germany’s June 20 match in Toronto.
The busiest day for returning Canadian residents was Sunday, June 28, when 138,500 people arrived from abroad. U.S. resident arrivals reached a daily high of 119,600 on Friday, June 19, a U.S. federal holiday. Overseas arrivals peaked on Friday, June 26, with 27,700 travellers.