Travel to Canada to Visit Family from India Remains Strong in 2026

April 24, 2026 Team Contributor

Travel to Canada to visit family often begins with a simple call. For Ludhiana’s Kuljeet Matharu, it was a late-night video call from his son in Toronto. His first granddaughter just learned to say ‘Dadaji’, and her 3rd birthday is next week.

Kuljeet opened his phone and searched for flights with a smile, until the fares surprised him. A round-trip ticket from Delhi to Toronto scheduled for June 2026 costs Rupees 1.5 Lakhs (C$2,178).

But he booked the tickets anyway.

And that’s the real picture today for India to Canada travel. For millions of families, journeys like these are not optional, but a part of their lives.

In 2024-2025, Air Canada announced and operated nearly 25 weekly direct flights to India, the most comprehensive offering of any carrier between the two countries. – Source

The legacy of travel to Canada to visit family from India

The Indian community in Canada comprises nearly 2 million people who currently call Canada home, according to a 2025 study.

India is also Canada’s largest source of new permanent residents, with more than 125,000 Indians granted permanent residency in 2024 alone.

More than 2 million people of Indian origin now call Canada home, as per recent demographic estimates for 2025. India also remains Canada’s largest source of new permanent residents, with over 125,000 Indians granted permanent residency in 2024 alone. – Source

It has created one of the world’s most significant corridors for family travel.

Parents fly out to help their children with newborns, grandparents attending graduation and birthdays, families reuniting for festivals, anniversaries and weddings.

Visiting family in Canada from India has become a year-round travel pattern rather than a seasonal trend.

Travel to Canada to visit family – a journey reuniting generations

The Indian connection with Canada is more than a century old. Punjabi migrants first arrived in British Columbia in the late 1800s and secured jobs in railways, lumber mills, and farming communities.

Today, Indian Canadians span multiple generations, with first-generation immigrants continuing to arrive and second- and third-generation families already deeply woven into the country’s economic and social fabric.

Premium fares and strong demand for flights from India to Canada

Searches for flights from India to Canada, or vice versa, continue to surge in 2026, especially from Bengaluru, Amritsar, Mumbai, and Delhi.

Here’s a glimpse at the average fares:

• Amritsar to Toronto: ₹1.4 lakh (C$2,280) to ₹2.1 lakh (C$3,420)
• Mumbai to Vancouver: ₹1.25 lakh (C$2,040) to ₹1.9 lakh (C$3,090)
• Delhi to Toronto: ₹1.15 lakh (C$1,880) to ₹1.75 lakh (C$2,850)

Best time to travel to Canada to visit family

February to April and September to early November offer the lowest fares due to low demand between the holiday seasons and before any major academic-season travel.

Time when fares are on the higher side for visiting Canada

From mid-December to early January, and from late June to throughout August, the India to Canada travel fares are the costliest, due to the New Year, Christmas, heavy student traffic and summer holidays.

In fact, summer departures and December holiday travel also push fares up.

Direct services offered by Air Canada and Air India fill quickly for Vancouver and Toronto.

India to Canada travel – Student mobility creates another active corridor

Canada hosted nearly 188,465 student permit holders in 2024, making Indian students the largest student group. – Source

In 2025, although new study permit approvals fell sharply due to policy changes, the existing population continued to generate significant family travel to Canada for campus visits, convocations, and homecoming.

Reasons why Canada-India airfares remain high

A lot of travellers ask why fares for India to Canada travel always stay high. The answer lies in how people book the flights. The most common factors are:

• Group bookings

•  Fixed dates

• Less flexibility and preference for direct flights

Consistent demand outpaces the available seats during the crucial travel windows.

Travel to Canada to visit family – an emotional corridor

For Kuljeet Matharu, the ticket pricing was high, but missing his granddaughter’s birthday would have cost him more, emotionally. Travel to Canada to visit family or coming back home to India for holiday remains remarkably strong even when the visa policies change. This is why travelling to Canada from India, and vice versa, forms a resilient and emotional travel corridor, beyond a purely strategic one.

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