OTTAWA — The number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. is up – and not coincidentally, so is the Canadian dollar. According to the latest figures from StatsCan, more than 3.6 million Canadian residents travelled to the U.S. in September, up from both the previous month (+1.9%), and September 2016 (+2.6%). This occurred as the Canadian dollar peaked at US$0.82, its highest level in two years.

In September some 739,000 Canadians made overnight trips by plane to the U.S., up 11.1% compared with the same month last year and a record for the month of September.

The highest year-over-year increases were in Ontario (+14.4%) and Quebec (+16.8%). After taking into account seasonal variation, overnight plane trips were also up 3.3% from August, including a 3.5% increase from Ontario and a 5.1% gain from Quebec.

Car travel by Canadians to the U.S. increased as well, rising 1.4% from last month and 0.3% higher compared with September 2016. The number of overnight car trips to the U.S. declined 1.4% from last September, while same-day car trips increased 1.1%.

Meanwhile the number of Canadians travelling overseas continues to climb. More than 1.1 million Canadian residents returned from overseas countries in September, the highest figure on record for the month. It was also a 1.9% increase from August, and 7.4% more than in September 2016.

The number of Canadians returning from overseas countries in the month of September has increased every year since the 1990s.