07:20 AM EDT, 06/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- It looks like Canadian travellers continued to avoid United States travel in May, noted Bank of Montreal (BMO).

According to preliminary data from Statistics Canada, 1.3 million Canadians returned to the country via the land border in May -- that's down almost 40% from a year ago.

In the first five months of the year, Canadian road trips to the U.S. are down almost 30% from the same period in 2024, said the bank.

There are a few factors at play here, stated BMO. Perhaps most obviously, relations between the two countries have been at their rockiest in recent memory and have likely driven a preference for domestic travel on both sides of the border as the U.S. domestic visitors by land were down 8% year over year in May.

Plus, the weather was unseasonably cold in many

parts of the continent.

The early-year weakness in the Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) has also played a role -- a quick shopping trip didn't hit the same way when the loonie was above $1.40, pointed out the bank.

While some of these factors should normalize in the months

to come, the real question is how quickly relations between

the two countries will stabilize and how soon people will

decide it's worth visiting their neighbours once again, added BMO.