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What the U.S.-Canada border looks like on day land crossings reopen

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TORONTO -

Travellers heading into the United States at major land border crossings experienced wait times of up to three hours in some areas on the first day in 20 months that fully vaccinated Canadians were allowed to cross for non-essential visits.

Travellers heading into the U.S. at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing between Quebec and New York were experiencing delays of up to 180 minutes at one point with six lanes open, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) and the Canadian government site for Canada to U.S. border wait times.

The government websites for border wait times were extremely slow to load as well on Monday morning.

Those crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge between Landsdowne, Ont. and Alexandria Bay, NY, were waiting about 45 minutes to get into the U.S. Wait times at other land crossings were 20 minutes or less.

Popular ports of entry like the Queenston-Lewiston, Rainbow, and Peace bridges in the Niagara Falls region in Ontario saw more modest delays of only a few minutes on Monday morning, but it was a different picture overnight at the Peace Bridge, according to the USCBP.

When borders reopened after midnight for the first time since March 21, 2020, traffic across the Buffalo and Niagara Falls crossing spiked, with wait times peaking at 155 minutes.

There are 26 primary inspection points across the 8,891-kilometre long border, according to the Canada Border Services Agency, with more than 100 ports of entry in total.

For more information on border wait times, visit:

U.S. Customs and Border protection Border Wait Times

Government of Canada: Canada to U.S. border wait times

For select border crossing traffic cams and information:

Pacific Highway Border Wait Times

B.C.-U.S. Border Traveller Information

Ambassador Bridge

Peace Bridge

Traffic Cams for Border Crossings in Quebec

Pacific Highway (B.C.)

 

The Peace Bridge (Ontario)

 

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