OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says bad winter weather in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes is largely to blame for declines in the number of Americans visiting Canada in February.
Every province but Saskatchewan recorded declines in inbound border crossings by U.S. residents travelling by car as Americans made a million overnight trips to Canada in February.
That's 3.8 per cent fewer overnight visits than in January and the lowest level since November 1996.
Canadians made 3.7 million trips to the United States in February, 0.3 per cent fewer trips than in January.
Overall, Canadians made 1.6 million overnight trips to the United States in February, 0.7 per cent more than in January and the second highest level in 16 years.
But total travel to the United States fell 0.3 per cent to 3.7 million trips.
Same-day car travel from the United States continued its downward trend, falling 4.1 per cent to a low of 751,000 trips in February -- the eighth straight decline in same-day car travel.
February's level was far below the record high of three million same-day car trips that U.S. residents took to Canada in March 1981.
Overnight car travel from the United States fell for the fourth straight month, dropping 5.6 per cent to 610,000 trips in February, the lowest level in over 24 years.
Trips through Ontario border crossings, which accounted for almost two-thirds of all car trips by U.S. residents in Canada, fell 4.8 per cent from January.
New Brunswick posted a 12.6 per cent decrease, as Environment Canada estimated Fredericton snowfalls at 75.5 centimetres in February.
The unfavourable weather did not hamper car travel to the United States as much as it did U.S. travel to Canada. Same-day car travel to the United States fell 1.3 per cent to 2.1 million trips in February. Overnight car travel to the United States slipped 0.1 per cent to 973,000 trips.
Travel from overseas countries inched up to its highest level since October 2004, reaching 401,000 trips, largely on the strength of travel increases from Asia.
Travel from China was up 6.3 per cent, South Korea rose 3.2, and Japan climbed two per cent. These offset declines from Canada's two most important overseas markets, Britain (down 1.2 per cent) and France (down one per cent).
Foreign visitors made nearly 2.3 million trips to Canada in February, the lowest monthly level since record keeping started in 1972.
Canadians made an unprecedented 667,000 trips overseas, up 1.9 per cent from January. Travel to overseas countries has increased 59.7 per cent in the last five years.
