Wait-Times Skyrocket at Border Crossings

(CTV News/Canadian Press)

As the Canadian dollar continues to enjoy parity with its U.S. counterpart, hordes of bargain-hungry Canadians are heading south, leaving some with agonizing border wait times at entry points into the United States.

On Saturday, wait times for domestic travelers at the Pacific Highway and Douglas crossings in Surrey, B.C. were as high as 3½ hours according to the Canadian Border Services Agency.

The St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing in Lacolle, Que., the Emerson, Man. entry point and the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge in Queenston, Ont., also reported wait times of more than two hours.

The long lines represent a dramatic increase for service standards at border primary inspection booths. Canadian Border Services reports usual processing of travellers takes 20 minutes on most weekends and holidays and a mere 10 minutes during weekdays.

Meanwhile, the majority of border officials are reporting minimal or no delays crossing into Canada from the U.S. as Americans decide to stay at home.

As the U.S. greenback takes a beating amid recession fears and a credit crunch, tourism to U.S. cities near the border has surged and the American retail sector reports significant gains as a result.

“When the exchange rate began getting closer to par we saw an increase in Canadian clients ... and they’re coming throughout the year, instead of just off-season,” Steve Gendall, owner of the Maple Leaf Motel in nearby North Conway, told the Canadian Press earlier this week.

The loonie closed Friday’s trading day in Toronto up 1.59 cents to US$1.0185, prompting long-weekend shoppers to head south to get more bang for their buck.

Canadian overnight travel to the U.S. rose to its highest first-quarter level since 1993, according to a report released by Statistics Canada in late August.

Canadians took about 3.7 million trips into the U.S., an increase of 4.8 per cent from the same time period in 2006.

In total, Canadians spent about $3.1 billion in the U.S. during the first quarter — an increase of five per cent.

“We expect it will be a double-digit increase for 2007 ... with the dollar reaching parity,” Chris Ryall, Canadian representative for the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development, told CP.

“Having the loonie on par with the U.S. dollar really helps increase the spending,” he said. “It definitely attracts people to stay longer and spend more.”

Americans made fewer than 1.8 million overnight trips to Canada by air and car between January and March. The numbers represent a decline of 6.3 per cent from 2006, marking the eighth consecutive year-over-year quarterly decline.