The trade tiff between Canada and the U.S. has had little impact on summer travel, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The summer holiday season has meant an upward trend in land border traffic from Canada to the United States, as indicated by the CBP's July statistics.
There were 4,790,138 travellers who crossed into the States by land in July, a 24.1 per cent rise from June, when 3,859,267 people crossed.
U.S. customs officials classify a traveller as a person who enters the U.S. on foot, or by private vehicle or truck.
The numbers are still way down from 2024, a consequence of the ongoing tussle between Ottawa and the Trump administration. In July 2024, 6,176,550 travellers entered the U.S. from Canada, for a 22.4 percent year-to-year decline.
The border crossing from Windsor to Detroit remains the busiest on the Canadian border, and crossings were trending up in July. At both the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, the CBP reported 704,724 travellers in July, up from 612,797 in June for a 15 per cent increase.
The year-to-year decline from July 2024 is 11.7 per cent, and continues to slow.
The number of commercial trucks travelling to Detroit rebounded slightly in July, with 93,826 conveyances crossing. That represented a 2.9 per cent hike from June, but year-to-year stats are still way down, with a 13.3 per cent decrease from 2024.
A conveyance is defined by the CBP as any vehicle carrying people, regardless of the number of people inside.
Crossings at the Blue Water Bridge also went up in July. The CBP said 312,120 travellers crossed into Port Huron, up from 270,310 in June, for a 15.5 per cent increase, yet still down from 352,409 travellers in July of 2024.
Commercial truck traffic from Sarnia fell in July, with 88,652 trucks crossing, from 90,357 in June. Compared to July 2024, truck crossings were up by 13.3 per cent.
Figures were current as of Wednesday, August 5.