Canada to end remote border crossing program used largely by Americans

Canada will scrap a border entry program next year that made it easy for thousands of people annually, predominantly Americans, to travel into remote areas of Ontario and Manitoba without having to report to a customs checkpoint.

Starting next September, those people will have to trek to one of those border stations or use one of the yet-to-be-established designated telephone reporting sites when entering Canada.

Through the Remote Area Border Program (RABC) , set to end next September, the Canada Border Service agency issued annual permits allowing pre-approved Canadian and U.S. residents to freely cross the border in five remote and sparsely populated areas.

In Ontario, and starting from the east, those areas include Cockburn Island and the Sault Ste. Marie’s upper lock system on the border with Michigan, waterways from Pigeon River all the way to the Lake of the Woods, and the entirety of the Canadian shores on Lake Superior. Also affected is Minnesota’s Northwest Angle area bordering southern Manitoba, which is only accessible by water or by road by driving through about 40 miles of the Canadian province.

The program “historically” attracts about 11,000 members annually, according to CBSA, 90 per cent of whom are Americans.

As reported by the Ely Echo in Minnesota, permit holders largely consist of paddlers, fishing guides on both sides of the border and their guests, and U.S. residents who own property in Canada.

The agency said introducing telephone reporting in place of RABC improves border security and “builds on processes already in place across Canada, where travellers are required to report to the CBSA from designated sites every time they enter Canada.

“This process ensures a consistent level of security and expectations of compliance for everyone,” it stated in a press release.

Telephone reporting for general aviation and private boats entering Canada was introduced around the turn of the century in the Canada-United States Accord on Our Shared Border as CANPASS. It was expanded in 2022 with the creation of “telephone reporting site/land” designation, allowing travellers by other “non-commercial conveyances” to enter at designated sites.

According to CBSA , at the site, only the person operating the vehicle can exit to report upon arrival, at which time they can use a phone on site or their own device to contact the telephone reporting centre. Not unlike any border crossing, they must then supply all the necessary information for themselves and all passengers — identification, length of stay, reason for travelling, any required declarations, and so on.

“The location of the new telephone reporting sites will be decided in the coming months in consultation with Indigenous communities, local businesses and law enforcement partners,” CBSA stated.

The agency said the measure “will also more closely align with how travellers report to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)” in remote areas on their side of the border.

CBP doesn’t appear to employ a specific land-based reporting system, but it does use an app called Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM) , which allows pleasure boaters and other “travellers arriving in remote locations” to report entry into the U.S. via their own device or “a tablet located at local businesses to satisfy reporting requirements.

National Post has contacted both CBSA and CBP for more information about their programs and remote border entry.

CBSA’s decision ends over a year of uncertainty for RBAC permit holders. Last September, Canada put the program on pause, suspending all new applications and renewals, while it underwent a review, as reported by the Duluth News Tribune.

CBSA later extended existing permits issued after Sept. 1, 2023, until the end of 2025, the Grand Forks Herald reported earlier this year. Those were extended again, this time until the program ends officially on Sept. 14, 2026.

Some U.S. politicians have expressed concern about the impending change.

Minnesota Congressman Peter Stauber, in a letter sent to Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, outgoing Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, and CBSA President Erin O’Gorman, said he and his peers were disappointed with the end of RABC, but encouraged by the promise of expanded telephone reporting.

But the letter , co-signed by fellow Republicans Jack Bergman, a Michigan congressman, and North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer, was not without reproach.

“Unfortunately, the nearly two-year review of the RABC program has been marred by uncertainty and retracted statements,” they wrote.

“During this time, the Canadian government has been unable to respond to the questions permit holders have posed.”

The letter also asks Canadian officials to explain how stakeholder needs will be handled during and after the program ends, whether access will be restricted in any way, and seeks clarity on the access rules for current users. It also encourages them to visit the remote communities to “engage with local elected officials, businesses, and property owners” affected by the change.

Donny Sorlie, owner of the Chippewa Inn on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake, was cautiously optimistic about the changes.

“It very well could be a good thing, as long as they get it figured out,” Sorlie told Paddle and Portage Magazine . “Until then, we’re still feeling a bit left in the dark here.”

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