Canada day and 4th of July are right around the corner and the Canadian border agency wants to be sure you have a smooth trip at the border.  

Planning a head can help alleviate issues that may arise, 

Like checking border wait times here and planning a route through less busy ports of entry to avoid traffic and longer wait times. 

Crossing on early mornings tends to be the best time to avoid waits, while Mondays after a holiday long weekend tend to be the longest.  

Having your travel documents up to date and easily accessible helps speed things along when arriving at the border as well. 

If you are traveling with children, more so ones that are not your own, it is recommended that you have a consent letter from a parent or legal guardian. Border guards are always on the lookout for missing children and if documentation can’t be produced, the officers may ask additional questions. 

When entering back into Canada be ready to declare everything you have brought back. 

As much as we hear it, you must always declare food, plant or animal products entering the country. Some small infection or invasive species could easily cause great harm to Canadian ecosystems, our food, and even the economy. 

Be sure to also be aware of your responsibilities while traveling with medication as well. 

And most important, firewood from outside of Canada I not permitted as it has a chance to bring destructive diseases and pests. 

With cannabis being legal in Canada, it is still a criminal offence to bring any form of the drug is illegal. “Don’t bring it in, Don’t Take it out.” 

More information can be found here or by calling 1 800 461 9999