6 ms·

> and an international border divide the two cities, keeping them farther apart than their geographic and cultural identities would suggest. For real, crossing

> and an international border divide the two cities, keeping them farther apart than their geographic and cultural identities would suggest. For real, crossing into Canada from the US at Vancouver is probably the toughest English speaking border I've dealt with as an American. England, Ireland, the Anzacs, I've never had an issue, but damn, every time I visit Vancouver I budget extra time to deal with immigration. I go through Toronto a lot, too, and never have issues there, but nearly everyone I know gets harassed on both sides of the Canadian/US border up at the Couv.

sharkjacobs 10y ago
Everyone I know in Vancouver or Seattle who crosses more than once a year has a Nexus pass for exactly this reason.
- jsolson 10y ago
  I have one, but honestly I crossed about a dozen times each way last year for skiing and never spent more than a minute talking to an agent. I got Nexus because the line to get to the booth is sometimes longer than I'd like (and TSA pre-check is nice).
cbHXBY1D 10y ago
True. I live in Seattle and had a friend visiting early last month and I wanted to take him to Vancouver for a day trip. We drove to the border and I explained to the border guard we are just sight-seeing for the day. The guard directed us to pull over near their facility and they made us give them our keys, cell phones, and wallets while they went through everything in my car. We were put into two different rooms and questioned for 1.5 hours. They even went through my laptop bag and found paperwork about an upcoming surgery in a week and accused me of not giving them details about that. They left my car in a mess. All in all, the day trip wasn't worth the feeling of violation.
- bruceb 10y ago
  I think what is frustrating is not the stopping and questioning but the attitude. I have been stopped on the way to Vancouver. For the most part Canadian border control is professional and polite. On the way back a few times I have encountered surly demeaning behavior. Being a border patrol officer would be a tedious job at times and I don't expect a smile but outward hostility is ridiculous. For non citizen encountering this it is a terrible and lasting bad first impression of the US.
  - VygmraMGVl 10y ago
    In my singular experience crossing this border, the US guards were way more relaxed than the Canadian guards. The Canadian guards seemed very concerned that my plates were from the East Coast and asked us about 10 questions down that line, while the US guards asked us maybe 2 questions total.
    - mahyarm 10y ago
      I think your experience depends on your citizenship. As a canadian the canadian border guards are nice to me. With a work visa, the american border guards aren't as nice. Also the border guards start becoming nicer once they see a history for your passport in their console if you never had any shit happen. Also a NEXUS / Global Entry card makes them far more nicer.
  - wangchow 10y ago
    Honestly the day trip people would annoy me if I were a border patrol officer. Commuting in and potentially exploiting economic loopholes or something. That or smugling drugs across the border. Especially given the strength of the USD over CAD these days
    - jdavis703 10y ago
      Then perhaps you shouldn't be a border patrol officer. It would be like waiters being annoyed at being asked what's in the food they're serving.
pacala 10y ago
For $50 / 5 years, you can register for https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus. Hopefully it reduces the hassle a bit.
- optimiz3 10y ago
  Don't you have to give your biometrics though? The privacy / tracking implications seem a bit disturbing.
  - wattt 10y ago
    It is a background check. USA uses your fingerprints for air travel authentication. Canada uses an iris scan for authentication. The authentications are separate but the travel history is shared for visa tracking purposes. It is much less invasive than being queried and documented on varied subject by every singe border agent. The files on you grow much bigger with the unlimited scope of questioning of a border agent. Of course, they can still stop you and ask you details (and do) but I have found once you are on file they stop digging around into your private life because they know you have a background check on file.
- wattt 10y ago
  This isn't appropriate for one-time day travellers and vacationers. Certainly it is a good program but it is no excuse to be assholes to tourists bringing money into either country for what used to be a good time.
int_19h 10y ago
I had worked remotely from Vancouver for an American company for two years, and so I made regular business trips to Seattle to discuss things in person. My experience was rather different - the return trip was always easy and fast, and I don't recall ever having to even get out of the car at the border; they just asked me a few questions and waved me through. Always very polite and friendly. Crossing into US was much more daunting: you always had to park the car for them to inspect, and then wait anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours in a queue to get interviewed by a CBP agent. More often than not, they were pretty rude (not just to myself; I observed other people getting similar treatment). I think there was exactly one crossing where the treatment that I've got was truly professional. Note that I wasn't a citizen, or even permanent resident, of either country at the time - I had a work visa in Canada, and a visitor/business visa in US. No idea if this has changed recently; my experience is from 2009-2010.
icelancer 10y ago
They're brutal. I've nearly been turned away for just wanting to go see a baseball game in Vancouver. It's unreal. What the hell is their problem?
wattt 10y ago
I'm a frequent traveller and former Vancouver resident. Hands down worst border crossing everywhere along the BC/WA border. I have talked to many with similar experiences. Until pot was legalised in WA the border officers were on a mad hunt to find weed on every person crossing. They would do so under the guise of accusing you of going to work illegally and any number of other things. Then after WA legalised BC decided that they would step up their own reefer madness campaign to keep the WA weed out. As if BC needs to import it, but I digress. They even went as far as staging a "COPS"-style programme on television to showcase all the vagrants they catch. It was eventually cancelled, but not before exposing the world to all of the security theatre of the BC border crossing. The irony of it all is that weed is everywhere in Canada and the US and the BC/WA border is just a shitshow of angry assholes on both sides. It is very unfortunate for the tourism industry on both sides.
- hyperbovine 10y ago
  Add me to that list. I've visited close to 50 countries and by far the worst experience I ever had was driving into BC on I5. A distant second would be getting accused by Cuban security of trying to smuggle coke from Cancun to Havana -- but at least they were polite. It was exactly as you described, they tried this whole psych routine trying to make us for pot smugglers, searched the whole car, etc. Guy was just a complete asshole.
psyc 10y ago
I usually go to Sumas. I've had good luck there.
weeksie 10y ago
I've been effectively banned from Canada. I was arrested (never charged) many years ago when I was 19. It was on suspicion of "intending to injure a vehicle" Don't ask, it was in Utah. Anyway, the court has no records of my being arrested, but somehow the Canadian border police do. The last time I went up to Montreal on the train I was pulled aside and asked if I'd ever been arrested. I first said no, but then laughed and said, "Yeah actually. 20 years ago." Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. I haven't been back. Though I have travelled wide and far since and not caught any slack. Seriously Canada. I like you, but you're not that awesome. Ridiculous.
- raverbashing 10y ago
  You can ask for a waiver, not sure how complex it is, but that's what a lot of hockey (and other sport) players do
- omginternets 10y ago
  >Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. They asked you to prove a negative? This speaks volumes about the mindset of run-of-the-mill border guards and the sensibility of their policies...
  - lucozade 10y ago
    > They asked you to prove a negative? At least in principle you might be able to get a court to write a letter saying you haven't been charged. I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. I still can't think of what I could have said/done that would have convinced them. And yes I did ask at the time. And yes it annoyed them that I asked.
    - omginternets 10y ago
      >I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. As a point of interest, this is actually possible! There is a well-known effect in cognitive science called the Stroop effect [0], in which the semantic value of a word interferes with the main task of having to declare the color of the font. If the task is performed with Greek words and you don't speak Greek, you will be able to enumerate the color of the "ink" without any penalty in reaction time. Apparently this was used in the 50's to root out Russian spies in the CIA. (But the absurdity of the border-guard's demands are not lost on me, of course!) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect
Fezzik 10y ago
Anecdote: I have found going in to Canada (through Vancouver) as a visitor much more difficult than coming back home to the States. I was recently en route to a film festival at Whistler and did not realize my passport was expired... the Canadian folks did not care at all when I entered. Coming home the American staff held me up for 5 hours. Also, back in 1998, I went to Canada with my uncle to get a toilet (he wanted a larger liter-per-flush unit than you could get in the US) and the Canadian crossing guards thought that was hilarious when we declared it as a reason for entry. Coming home, it warranted a complete search of our persons and vehicle. Even though we had a receipt. The treatment has been similar in my 20 or so trips up there: coming in to my home takes significantly longer than visiting a foreign land. I find it exasperating.

sharkjacobs 10y ago

Everyone I know in Vancouver or Seattle who crosses more than once a year has a Nexus pass for exactly this reason.

jsolson 10y ago
I have one, but honestly I crossed about a dozen times each way last year for skiing and never spent more than a minute talking to an agent. I got Nexus because the line to get to the booth is sometimes longer than I'd like (and TSA pre-check is nice).

cbHXBY1D 10y ago

True. I live in Seattle and had a friend visiting early last month and I wanted to take him to Vancouver for a day trip. We drove to the border and I explained to the border guard we are just sight-seeing for the day. The guard directed us to pull over near their facility and they made us give them our keys, cell phones, and wallets while they went through everything in my car. We were put into two different rooms and questioned for 1.5 hours. They even went through my laptop bag and found paperwork about an upcoming surgery in a week and accused me of not giving them details about that. They left my car in a mess. All in all, the day trip wasn't worth the feeling of violation.

bruceb 10y ago
I think what is frustrating is not the stopping and questioning but the attitude. I have been stopped on the way to Vancouver. For the most part Canadian border control is professional and polite. On the way back a few times I have encountered surly demeaning behavior. Being a border patrol officer would be a tedious job at times and I don't expect a smile but outward hostility is ridiculous. For non citizen encountering this it is a terrible and lasting bad first impression of the US.
- VygmraMGVl 10y ago
  In my singular experience crossing this border, the US guards were way more relaxed than the Canadian guards. The Canadian guards seemed very concerned that my plates were from the East Coast and asked us about 10 questions down that line, while the US guards asked us maybe 2 questions total.
  - mahyarm 10y ago
    I think your experience depends on your citizenship. As a canadian the canadian border guards are nice to me. With a work visa, the american border guards aren't as nice. Also the border guards start becoming nicer once they see a history for your passport in their console if you never had any shit happen. Also a NEXUS / Global Entry card makes them far more nicer.
- wangchow 10y ago
  Honestly the day trip people would annoy me if I were a border patrol officer. Commuting in and potentially exploiting economic loopholes or something. That or smugling drugs across the border. Especially given the strength of the USD over CAD these days
  - jdavis703 10y ago
    Then perhaps you shouldn't be a border patrol officer. It would be like waiters being annoyed at being asked what's in the food they're serving.

pacala 10y ago

For $50 / 5 years, you can register for https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/nexus. Hopefully it reduces the hassle a bit.

optimiz3 10y ago
Don't you have to give your biometrics though? The privacy / tracking implications seem a bit disturbing.
- wattt 10y ago
  It is a background check. USA uses your fingerprints for air travel authentication. Canada uses an iris scan for authentication. The authentications are separate but the travel history is shared for visa tracking purposes. It is much less invasive than being queried and documented on varied subject by every singe border agent. The files on you grow much bigger with the unlimited scope of questioning of a border agent. Of course, they can still stop you and ask you details (and do) but I have found once you are on file they stop digging around into your private life because they know you have a background check on file.
wattt 10y ago
This isn't appropriate for one-time day travellers and vacationers. Certainly it is a good program but it is no excuse to be assholes to tourists bringing money into either country for what used to be a good time.

int_19h 10y ago

I had worked remotely from Vancouver for an American company for two years, and so I made regular business trips to Seattle to discuss things in person. My experience was rather different - the return trip was always easy and fast, and I don't recall ever having to even get out of the car at the border; they just asked me a few questions and waved me through. Always very polite and friendly. Crossing into US was much more daunting: you always had to park the car for them to inspect, and then wait anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours in a queue to get interviewed by a CBP agent. More often than not, they were pretty rude (not just to myself; I observed other people getting similar treatment). I think there was exactly one crossing where the treatment that I've got was truly professional. Note that I wasn't a citizen, or even permanent resident, of either country at the time - I had a work visa in Canada, and a visitor/business visa in US. No idea if this has changed recently; my experience is from 2009-2010.

icelancer 10y ago

They're brutal. I've nearly been turned away for just wanting to go see a baseball game in Vancouver. It's unreal. What the hell is their problem?

wattt 10y ago

I'm a frequent traveller and former Vancouver resident. Hands down worst border crossing everywhere along the BC/WA border. I have talked to many with similar experiences. Until pot was legalised in WA the border officers were on a mad hunt to find weed on every person crossing. They would do so under the guise of accusing you of going to work illegally and any number of other things. Then after WA legalised BC decided that they would step up their own reefer madness campaign to keep the WA weed out. As if BC needs to import it, but I digress. They even went as far as staging a "COPS"-style programme on television to showcase all the vagrants they catch. It was eventually cancelled, but not before exposing the world to all of the security theatre of the BC border crossing. The irony of it all is that weed is everywhere in Canada and the US and the BC/WA border is just a shitshow of angry assholes on both sides. It is very unfortunate for the tourism industry on both sides.

hyperbovine 10y ago
Add me to that list. I've visited close to 50 countries and by far the worst experience I ever had was driving into BC on I5. A distant second would be getting accused by Cuban security of trying to smuggle coke from Cancun to Havana -- but at least they were polite. It was exactly as you described, they tried this whole psych routine trying to make us for pot smugglers, searched the whole car, etc. Guy was just a complete asshole.

psyc 10y ago

I usually go to Sumas. I've had good luck there.

weeksie 10y ago

I've been effectively banned from Canada. I was arrested (never charged) many years ago when I was 19. It was on suspicion of "intending to injure a vehicle" Don't ask, it was in Utah. Anyway, the court has no records of my being arrested, but somehow the Canadian border police do. The last time I went up to Montreal on the train I was pulled aside and asked if I'd ever been arrested. I first said no, but then laughed and said, "Yeah actually. 20 years ago." Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. I haven't been back. Though I have travelled wide and far since and not caught any slack. Seriously Canada. I like you, but you're not that awesome. Ridiculous.

raverbashing 10y ago
You can ask for a waiver, not sure how complex it is, but that's what a lot of hockey (and other sport) players do
omginternets 10y ago
>Then I was told that they were going to let me through that time but don't come through again unless I can show proof that I wasn't charged with a crime. They asked you to prove a negative? This speaks volumes about the mindset of run-of-the-mill border guards and the sensibility of their policies...
- lucozade 10y ago
  > They asked you to prove a negative? At least in principle you might be able to get a court to write a letter saying you haven't been charged. I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. I still can't think of what I could have said/done that would have convinced them. And yes I did ask at the time. And yes it annoyed them that I asked.
  - omginternets 10y ago
    >I was once asked by a Cypriot border guard to prove I couldn't speak Greek. As a point of interest, this is actually possible! There is a well-known effect in cognitive science called the Stroop effect [0], in which the semantic value of a word interferes with the main task of having to declare the color of the font. If the task is performed with Greek words and you don't speak Greek, you will be able to enumerate the color of the "ink" without any penalty in reaction time. Apparently this was used in the 50's to root out Russian spies in the CIA. (But the absurdity of the border-guard's demands are not lost on me, of course!) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect

Fezzik 10y ago

Anecdote: I have found going in to Canada (through Vancouver) as a visitor much more difficult than coming back home to the States. I was recently en route to a film festival at Whistler and did not realize my passport was expired... the Canadian folks did not care at all when I entered. Coming home the American staff held me up for 5 hours. Also, back in 1998, I went to Canada with my uncle to get a toilet (he wanted a larger liter-per-flush unit than you could get in the US) and the Canadian crossing guards thought that was hilarious when we declared it as a reason for entry. Coming home, it warranted a complete search of our persons and vehicle. Even though we had a receipt. The treatment has been similar in my 20 or so trips up there: coming in to my home takes significantly longer than visiting a foreign land. I find it exasperating.