Last year was one of Canada’s strongest tourism years on record. The sector generated nearly $60 billion in revenue between May and August 2025, a six per cent year-over-year increase, according to Destination Canada.

Several forces drove that surge, including a continued post-COVID rebound and persistent trade tensions between Canada and the United States that encouraged Canadians to explore the nation’s provinces and territories.

In a recent speech to the Liberal National Convention, Prime Minister Mark Carney pointed to last summer’s numbers as evidence of national momentum.

But the fuel crisis and inflation means that the tourism records may not be broken as easily in 2026 as they were in 2025.

FIFA and the summer of 2026

Demand for travel remains strong, with seven in 10 Canadians expecting to travel this year. With the FIFA men’s World Cup arriving in Canada this June, the conditions for another record summer could be in place.

Canada will be co-hosting the FIFA World Cup alongside the U.S. and Mexico. Seven matches will be played at BC Place in Vancouver and six at BMO Field in Toronto.

“This is the largest single-sport event on the planet,” Anne Kang, B.C Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, said in a statement. “More than 350,000 fans........

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