Canada is next door, which makes it easy to assume the flight is always cheap. It usually is, but which city you pick, which month you fly, and whether you even need a Canadian airport at all can still swing the price by hundreds of dollars. Here is how to find the actual low fare instead of the first number Google Flights shows you.
How much are flights to Canada from the US?
Canada's big three, Air Canada, WestJet and Porter, all compete hard with US majors on the busiest routes, which keeps prices unusually low for an international trip. Short hops near the border are often priced closer to domestic than international.
| Departure hub | Typical round trip | Deal price to watch for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York / Newark to Toronto | $180 - $320 | Under $140 | The most competitive US to Canada route. Multiple daily nonstops. |
| Seattle to Vancouver | $140 - $260 | Under $110 | Under an hour in the air. Often priced like a domestic short hop. |
| Chicago to Toronto | $190 - $340 | Under $150 | Heavy business travel keeps frequency high. |
| Miami / Atlanta to Toronto or Montreal | $230 - $420 | Under $190 | One stop is common outside peak summer. |
| Los Angeles / San Francisco to Vancouver | $200 - $380 | Under $160 | West Coast to West Coast keeps this route cheap year round. |
Which Canadian city is cheapest to fly into?
Toronto (YYZ) is usually the cheapest major gateway because it has the most airlines fighting for the route, including budget-minded Porter Airlines, which has expanded aggressively into US cities in the last two years. Vancouver (YVR) is the standout value from West Coast cities purely on distance, often pricing closer to a domestic flight than an international one. Montreal (YUL) sits in between, cheapest from the Northeast and less competitive from anywhere else.
If your trip is flexible on which city you actually need, compare more than one Canadian gateway before booking. A fare finder that checks Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal side by side, like FareFinderAI's free search, will usually surface a cheaper option than searching one city at a time.
Is the border city trick worth it?
Some travelers fly into a US city near the border, like Buffalo, Bellingham or Seattle, then cross by car or bus rather than paying for the Canadian leg. It is the same logic as a positioning flight: land somewhere cheaper, then finish the trip a different way. It can genuinely save money on routes where the Canadian airport carries a steep premium.
The catch is that the savings have to clear real costs: a rental car or bus ticket, extra hours at the border, and the hassle of managing bags and documents on a ground crossing. For a short domestic-style hop like Seattle to Vancouver, the airfare is usually already so low that the border trick is not worth the extra time. It pays off more often on longer or pricier legs, like flying into a US Northeast hub instead of Montreal during a peak week.
Compare Canadian gateways in one search
FareFinderAI checks Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and dozens of other airports at once, so you see the cheapest way in before you commit to one city.
Search Canada Flights Free →What is the cheapest month to fly to Canada?
- January and February (cheapest): The post-holiday lull. Cold almost everywhere, but fares bottom out.
- November (close second): Thin crowds, mild-to-cold weather, and fares well below the summer peak.
- Late June through August (avoid): Peak Canadian summer. Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal all see their highest fares of the year.
- Christmas and New Year week (avoid): The single most expensive week to fly, especially into Toronto and Montreal.
For the general strategy behind these swings, see our guide to shoulder season flights and when to book flights. Canada rewards the same edge-of-season thinking as any other destination, just with a shorter flight to get there.
Three more ways to cut the fare
- Set a flexible route alert. Canadian routes see frequent fare wars between Air Canada, WestJet and the US majors. A price alert on "US to Canada" rather than one fixed city catches them.
- Check Porter Airlines directly. Porter's newer US routes do not always show up first on every search engine, and its fares can undercut the legacy carriers on the same city pair.
- Use an open jaw for multi-city trips. Flying into Toronto and out of Montreal, or the reverse, usually prices no higher than a plain round trip. See our guide to open-jaw flights.
Frequently asked questions
Canada is about as low-friction as international travel gets from the US: short flights, heavy airline competition, and no shortage of cheap weeks to book. Pick the gateway that fits your trip, aim for the shoulder months, and let a price alert do the rest.