CBSA warns of 25-minute land-border delays as summer getaway begins

The Canada Border Services Agency’s real-time dashboard shows traveller wait times of up to 25 minutes at several Ontario and British Columbia crossings this morning (updated 08:00 PDT, July 27). While the delays are moderate, CBSA officials are advising business travellers to build extra time into itineraries as the summer long-weekend surge—compounded this year by the FIFA World Cup 26 matches in Toronto and Vancouver—reaches its peak. Historically, last-week-of-July volumes push major crossings such as the Peace Bridge, Queenston–Lewiston and Pacific Highway to capacity between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Commercial vehicles can also face bottlenecks if passenger lanes overflow. CBSA’s published service standard aims to keep processing times under 20 minutes in July and August, but officials note that staffing is stretched while many officers complete mandatory training on new primary-inspection kiosks and Advance Declaration kiosks. Employers moving technicians, executives or rotational crews between Canada and the United States this week should consider scheduling crossings early in the morning, using the CanBorder app to check live updates, or routing freight via off-peak ports such as Fort Frances–International Falls. NEXUS holders are generally clearing in under five minutes, underscoring the value of trusted-traveller enrolment. Companies should also remind employees of documentation requirements: possession of a valid passport (or, for U.S. citizens, an enhanced driver’s licence) plus work-authorisation paperwork where applicable. Failure to present originals can lead to secondary inspection and further delays. As always, the CBSA advises against transporting commercial samples that lack proper customs invoices, a common cause of business-traveller holdups. Looking ahead, the agency expects volumes to remain elevated through mid-August when summer construction shutdowns send more Canadians on cross-border shopping trips. Mobility teams may want to flag the issue in corporate newsletters and encourage staff to leverage videoconferencing where practical over the next three weeks.