Photo courtesy Air Canada
Getting to Mexico from Canada just got a whole lot easier thanks to Air Canada. The country’s largest air carrier has announced a major expansion of its summer 2026 schedule south of the border, adding 18 per cent more seat capacity compared to last year and launching a brand-new year-round route between Montréal and Guadalajara.
The announcement, which also includes increased service to Cancún, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta, comes at a time when Canadian travel to Mexico is booming, and the economic relationship between the two countries is stronger than it has been in years.
For travelers from Canada looking to explore Mexico’s cultural heartland or simply soak up some sun on the Caribbean coast, these new Air Canada flights to Mexico couldn’t come at a better time.
A New Direct Link to Mexico’s Cultural Capital
The headline addition is the new Montréal-Guadalajara route, which launches on June 2, 2026. Operating three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Flight AC1393 departs Montréal at 5:00 p.m. and touches down in Guadalajara at 8:55 p.m. local time. The return service, Flight AC1392, leaves Guadalajara at 8:05 a.m. and arrives back in Montréal at 3:30 p.m. the following day.
It’s a significant move for the airline, and one that opens up direct access from Quebec to what is arguably Mexico’s most culturally rich city. Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, is Mexico’s second-largest metropolitan area and the birthplace of two of the country’s most recognizable exports: mariachi music and tequila.
More Flights to Canada’s Favourite Mexican Beaches
Air Canada is also adding capacity on four existing routes for summer 2026. The Montréal-Cancún service is getting four additional weekly flights, bringing the total to 11 departures per week, up from seven last year. Toronto-Monterrey picks up an extra weekly flight, increasing to four from three. Vancouver-Mexico City is also adding four weekly flights, jumping to 11 starting June 27. And Vancouver-Puerto Vallarta doubles from one weekly flight to two.
When it all adds up, the airline plans to operate 10 daily flights from its three major hubs in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver to five Mexican destinations this summer, representing roughly 1,700 one-way seats per day. During the peak winter season, those numbers climb even higher, with up to 30 non-stop flights connecting eight Canadian cities to 11 destinations across Mexico.
Riding a Wave of Canadian Demand
The timing of these new Air Canada flights to Mexico is no coincidence. Canadian travel to Mexico has surged over the past two years, with air arrivals climbing more than 11 per cent year-over-year in 2025. Over two million Canadians flew to Mexico between January and October of that year, according to figures from Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism, a figure that was 18 per cent above pre-pandemic levels. The Cancún-Toronto corridor became the busiest international route into Mexico’s Caribbean gateway in early 2025, with Cancún-Montréal not far behind.
Several factors are driving the trend. The ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the United States have prompted many Canadians who might otherwise head to Florida or Arizona for winter getaways to redirect their travel budgets toward Mexican beach destinations instead. A YouGov survey commissioned by Flight Centre Canada found that 62 per cent of Canadians said they were less likely to visit the U.S. in 2026. Meanwhile, Mexico has been rolling out the welcome mat, investing in infrastructure like the new Tulum International Airport and expanding air connectivity to destinations beyond the traditional resort hubs.
Airlines have responded accordingly. WestJet now operates more than half of all flights between Canada and Mexico during winter, and budget carrier Flair Airlines launched Guadalajara services from both Vancouver and Toronto in 2024. Air travel between the two countries jumped by more than 20 per cent in the first half of 2025 alone, with over 3.7 million passengers flying between Canada and Mexico in just six months.
The Canada-Mexico Trade Connection
Air Canada’s expansion also dovetails neatly with a broader push to deepen economic ties between the two countries. The airline’s announcement landed on the same day that Canada’s “Team Canada” Trade Mission was getting underway in Mexico, a delegation of more than 370 participants and over 200 businesses led by Canadian trade minister Dominic LeBlanc. The mission, described by the federal government as the most significant of its kind to Mexico in decades, included stops in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, with a focus on sectors from advanced manufacturing to agriculture and creative industries.
Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Mexico topped $56 billion in 2024, a twelvefold increase since NAFTAcame into force in 1994. Mexico is now Canada’s third-largest single-country trading partner, and Canadian direct investment in Mexico reached $46.3 billion last year.
Flights for summer 2026 are available for purchase now at aircanada.com.