Getting into Canada
General Topic
Contributors to this thread:
APauls 26-Aug-21
Tobpitbull 26-Aug-21
Pat Lefemine 26-Aug-21
APauls 26-Aug-21
Moosemania 26-Aug-21
JL 26-Aug-21
Pat Lefemine 26-Aug-21
Mike Ukrainetz 26-Aug-21
Trial153 26-Aug-21
Sawpilot75 27-Aug-21
Trial153 27-Aug-21
Powder 27-Aug-21
Bowfinatic 27-Aug-21
T.O 28-Aug-21
happygolucky 28-Aug-21
Bou'bound 28-Aug-21
'Ike' (Phone) 28-Aug-21
Katahdin 28-Aug-21
Trial153 28-Aug-21
happygolucky 29-Aug-21
Stubbleduck 30-Aug-21
JL 30-Aug-21
616Buck 30-Aug-21
hunterken 12-Sep-21
Bou'bound 13-Sep-21
Katahdin 13-Sep-21
Bou'bound 13-Sep-21
sticksender 13-Sep-21
Aluminum Rain 14-Sep-21
Bou'bound 16-Sep-21
Aluminum Rain 16-Sep-21
Stringwacker 20-Sep-21
Ambush 20-Sep-21
JL 21-Sep-21
Trial153 21-Sep-21
JL 21-Sep-21
Pat Lefemine 21-Sep-21
hunter12345 22-Sep-21
Orion 22-Sep-21
Ambush 22-Sep-21
Bou'bound 22-Sep-21
Bou'bound 23-Sep-21
Bou'bound 23-Sep-21
Shug 23-Sep-21
grape 23-Sep-21
Bou'bound 23-Sep-21
kota-man 23-Sep-21
Mike Ukrainetz 23-Sep-21
Kurt 23-Sep-21
Aluminum Rain 23-Sep-21
JL 23-Sep-21
BullBuster 23-Sep-21
grape 24-Sep-21
huntinelk 24-Sep-21
Bou'bound 24-Sep-21
Katahdin 24-Sep-21
Elauwit 25-Sep-21
Katahdin 26-Sep-21
Bou'bound 30-Sep-21
Bou'bound 30-Sep-21
Bou'bound 30-Sep-21
kota-man 30-Sep-21
Bou'bound 01-Oct-21
From: APauls
26-Aug-21
Our customers (not hunters, eco-tourists) are reporting slow customs when on their international flights. Allow ample time to clear customs. Hours is not uncommon. But overall, no issues.

Just to recap: You'll need to test prior to coming to Canada. Randomized testing does take place in the airport, but there isn't mandatory testing on our side. You then go about your merry way. You will need to arrange to be tested before returning to the US.

In order to circumvent delays, we have had customers flying to Fargo, then renting a vehicle and driving across to Winnipeg. Land border crossings have been fast and hassle-free. Might be another option for you if you want to remove variability from your travels especially if you find a more "small town" crossing. I have no idea what crossings over by Toronto or Vancouver are like with big cities on either side.

26-Aug-21
According to their site and have all vaccinations for Covid, not just a test.

From: Pat Lefemine
26-Aug-21
Thanks Adam, this entire nightmare needs to end and soon.

From: APauls
26-Aug-21
Sorry, the underlining assumption is that you are double vaccinated, yes.

From: Moosemania
26-Aug-21
I just returned from Ontario, crossed by vehicle in the soo. Never had a quicker crossing. I feel for all the businesses relying on tourists, as they haven't returned yet. There was 1 car on my way back into the states where normally it's hundreds and an hour or more wait. Driving is the way to do it right now in my opinion. No tests returning to the states and no wait times

From: JL
26-Aug-21
^....Good first-hand border intel.

From: Pat Lefemine
26-Aug-21
The border may be open, but now the problem is fear, uncertainty and doubt. I am scheduled to hunt with Rob in October, but my group got cold feet - fearing they could get stuck in Canada, or the goal-post may be moved last minute - after they booked flights. I'm in, unless Rob needs to push me into another week where my work schedule will screw that up. One big cluster-F.

26-Aug-21
We had our first hunter get through the land border and it was easy, 5 minutes since he had done everything correctly but the border agent said 80-80% of people aren’t doing it correctly and they are being delayed. As long people are vaccinated and have the correct Covid test they are helping them fill in the paperwork and getting them through, they aren’t just turning them away. So that’s great!

From: Trial153
26-Aug-21
Thanks for the updates, flying up in couple weeks. Hopefully I have all my ducks in a row

From: Sawpilot75
27-Aug-21
I will be driving in October heading to Alberta. I scheduled my PCR test yesterday with my doctor but will leave soon after in order to make the 72 hour window while I wait for the results. Does anyone know if customs will accept the test results off a phone or does it have to be a hard copy? I told my doctors office to email me my results so I could get on the road rather than wait around a day for a hard copy.

From: Trial153
27-Aug-21
Your going to have to upload it to your portal anyway so I don’t think it’s an issue

From: Powder
27-Aug-21
The results of the test do not get uploaded to the arrive can app. Only your passport and proof of vaccination are uploaded. I have crossed with paper copies (twice) but I believe they will accept the digital copy on your phone.

27-Aug-21
We sat on the plane for 3 1/2hrs waiting for customs Once off customs was a breeze to get into Canada Most flights I had were delayed so needed extra time for sure

From: T.O
28-Aug-21
We crossed at the soo last week took 5- minutes very easy crossing.

T.O

From: happygolucky
28-Aug-21
I just got back from Ontario. No lines in either direction. Super quick and easy if you have ArriveCAN done right. The lack of traffic was alarming for sure. Weird being in mask mandated areas again. You have to wear a face diaper everywhere indoors still in Ontario. The Canada border agent asked us to put on our masks in our truck. The US border agent just chuckled when I asked him if we should put our masks on.

From: Bou'bound
28-Aug-21
So if your vaccination card is a hardcopy you just take a photograph of that to load it into the arrival Canada app or what

28-Aug-21
Easy as getting into the US from Mexico... :-)

From: Katahdin
28-Aug-21
So what are people using for a quarantine plan? My fishing outfitter would not let me use their lodge for this and said others used a Motel

From: Trial153
28-Aug-21
My outfitter wrote a quarantine plan and emailed it to all his clients

From: happygolucky
29-Aug-21
Our fishing resort owner wrote the quarantine plan also and emailed it to everyone. I scanned our vaccination cards and uploaded them to the app. I also printed a copy and gave it to the agent as part of the hard copy documents. The agent spent little time with the hard copies and then handed them all back to us.

From: Stubbleduck
30-Aug-21
Drove through the Fort Frances (Ontario) crossing yesterday (8/29). I had all the paper work, covid test (Molecular type within 72 hours), Vaccination certificate, ArriveCan receipt, and the usual passport . Officer looked the paper stuff over, had no comments, and then proceeded to do a rather through job of questioning me regarding firearms. I'm on an archery bear hunt so no firearms but he really probed the subject especially asking about handguns. His final question was did I own a handgun. I answered yes. He then quickly asked where it was. I said at home in a safe at which point he waved me through. Whole episode was maybe 5 minutes. There were two vehicles ahead of me when I arrived and I would guess they took about the same amount of time.

From: JL
30-Aug-21
^.....I suspect that border agent was feeling you out to see if your reactions and facial expressions were suspicious. I had a border agent ask me why my truck had two license plates (front vanity plate and back required plate). Both were Michigan plates and this was on the Michigan side. I know they do that to observe suspicious reactions.

From: 616Buck
30-Aug-21
I went into Canada for bear camp at Fort Francis last week. Took the same amount of time as normal (5 minutes) and got the same questions as normal about firearms. Coming back they had someone from US Fish and Wildlife inspect my bear. This was the first time in 6 trips some actually looked at it, normal the boarder agent just check my export tag. In Canada everything also went very easy, just know you have to wear a mask to go into any business. People were all nice like usual, everything was open, nothing for anyone to worry about. Just go and have a good time.

From: hunterken
12-Sep-21
Has anyone successfully driven across the border with a rapid molecular test from CVS or Walgreens. I’m worried about being able to get the pcr test in time. Nomone will guarantee the pcr test results in time.

From: Bou'bound
13-Sep-21
That is the whole issue. It’s the one wildcard. Do you leave home without it and if you miss the window you have start from scratch with a whole new test and 72 hour wait to cross window

No issue getting across it you have the results. That is noy the point.

From: Katahdin
13-Sep-21
I am heading into Canada on the 27th. I plan to get two tests one at Walgreens at noon on the 24th which will be good until noon on the 27th and then one at Convenient Md, which is about 80 miles away and costs $175 but they have very good results at 48 hours so I plan to get this at 8:00 on the 25th. This gives me some redundancy and extra cost but I have some confidence that I will have at least one result when I cross

From: Bou'bound
13-Sep-21
ken

i called three walgreens that are listed as doing the ID-NOW test and they said it is basically an anitgen test not a PCR. I thought it was a stronger test that may take place of pure PCR, but that is not what the testing places are saying.

From: sticksender
13-Sep-21
Some friends just drove to Alberta and had gotten their PCR test at a CVS. Their results came back in about 36 hours.

14-Sep-21
ID Now is a molecular test. I had 7 friends get across 2 weeks ago that all used it from Walgreens

From: Bou'bound
16-Sep-21
good to know about ID NOW any other official validation on that aside from these internet chat room posts?

16-Sep-21
Abbott's (ID now manufacturer) web site states that it detects nucleac acid from the Sars CoV 2 virus.

From: Stringwacker
20-Sep-21
Can anyone tell me if Canada requires a QR code on the test results?

From: Ambush
20-Sep-21
I'm happy for you guys finally getting into Canada. But I sure wish your dumbass Pres hadn't extended the closer to us for another month. Arizona is looking more and more like a pipe dream again. And Wyoming was already cancelled twice.

From: JL
21-Sep-21

JL's Link
Now that Canada's election is over and it didn't change much, any guesses what this mean going forward at the border? Status quo or........??

Canada election results: Justin Trudeau's gamble backfires but he clings onto power By Affan Chowdhry and Paula Newton, CNN 2 hrs ago

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party will form Canada's next government following a tightly contested general election against conservative rival Erin O'Toole.

Trudeau, however, fell short of his target of winning the necessary 170 seats to form a majority government.

As at 2 a.m. ET, Elections Canada showed the Liberals winning 157 seats compared to the Conservatives' 122 seats, with nearly 95% of polls across the country reporting.

The remaining seats in the next Parliament will be held by the left-leaning New Democratic Party and the Quebec-based separatist party Bloc Quebecois.

"You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic and to the brighter days ahead. My friends, that's exactly what we are ready to do," Trudeau told supporters from Montreal early Tuesday.

"What we've seen tonight is that millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive plan. Some have talked about division but that's not what I see. That's not what I've seen these past weeks across the country."

Trudeau called the snap election in mid-August, barely two years into his minority government, betting he could capitalize on his handling of the pandemic to win a majority.

But once-favorable polls for Trudeau and his Liberals quickly reversed course, with the Conservative Party's O'Toole fighting his way into a statistical tie, according to national tracking surveys over the past few days.

Covid-19, climate change, housing affordability and gun control have all featured as major issues with voters -- but one headache for Trudeau is that few Canadians saw the need for this election. One political expert told CNN that holding a snap election in the summer during a global pandemic has angered many voters who cannot identify a compelling "ballot box" issue to justify the undertaking.

O'Toole had sought to capitalize on the perception that Trudeau, the son of a former Canadian prime minister, is a classic liberal political elitist who is more interested in his own political ambition that leading the country.

Speaking to his supporters early Tuesday, O'Toole called the snap election a "quick power grab."

"Five weeks ago Mr Trudeau asked for a majority, he said the minority parliament was 'unworkable.' But tonight Canadians did not give Mr Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted," O'Toole said. "In fact Canadians sent him back with another minority at the cost of $600 million Canadian dollars and deeper divisions in our great country."

During the campaign, O'Toole attacked Trudeau in a way uncommon in Canadian politics.

"Every Canadian has met a Justin Trudeau in their lives -- privileged, entitled and always looking out for number one. He was looking out for number one when he called this expensive and unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic. That's not leadership, that's self interest. And it's Justin Trudeau through and through," O'Toole said at a recent campaign event.

Trudeau responded in a similarly robust fashion, saying: "I'm going to let him and his proxies and the anti-vaxxer movement and the gun lobby and the anti-choice crowd continue to attack me, fine. I'm going to stay focused on Canadians."

As much as candidates have tried to engage meaningfully on issues, a ripple of polarization among voters -- one that seems to mirror the US experience -- is emerging, especially on cultural or so-called "wedge" issues like abortion rights, gun control and climate change.

The pandemic in particular has ignited fury among a small but fierce minority that oppose some Covid-19 protocols, especially vaccine and mask mandates. Earlier this month a protester threw gravel at Trudeau at a campaign event in Ontario, after the Canadian leader had been stalked by demonstrators angry with his pandemic policies.

From: Trial153
21-Sep-21
I am in Canada and just finished up a goat hunt. The crossing was fairly easy. That said my airline in the states were not letting you on for first flight without a neg PCR test. So do bank on waiting for your results while your on a lay over. My results for the test were asked for at each leg.

From: JL
21-Sep-21
How did you get your test in Canada?

From: Pat Lefemine
21-Sep-21
I haven’t heard that but I wouldn’t be surprised. This is out of hand.

From: hunter12345
22-Sep-21
Well I still can’t drive into the USA, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see restrictions on travel into Canada.

From: Orion
22-Sep-21
Borders closed for thirty days from what I heard

From: Ambush
22-Sep-21
Just to be clear. Americans can drive into Canada for leisure. Canadians can't drive into the US for leisure. Our leader is an idiot. Yours is a dumbass.

From: Bou'bound
22-Sep-21
Jim how did the test in Calgary to get back into the us go. Advise when you have the experience

From: Bou'bound
23-Sep-21
Any tips on using the ArriveCAN app?

From: Bou'bound
23-Sep-21
Any tips on using the ArriveCAN app?

From: Shug
23-Sep-21
Bou.. be aware of scam sites. I registered yesterday for a trip to BC this Friday.

I guess I was on the “wrong” arrivecsn site.. it wouldn’t allow me to register saying it was too close to my departure date… odd because Covid test dates has to be within 72 hrs of departure.

Just to see what would happen I changed my departure date to see if it would accept my application..It did and the next step was asking for a credit card.

I immediately aborted that set up found a phone number and called the actual arrivecan and was told there was no charge and it was a scam site

From: grape
23-Sep-21
Bou, here is my tip. This is what we did. Fill out the arrive Canada app with a date in the 72 hour window. You will change that date later when it is time for your trip. That will let you put in the app and save all your pertinent info. Just don’t hit “submit” . When it is time to go, put in the correct date, check all saved info, and you are ready to submit directly to your border crossing. This of course is for driving, but I’m guessing you could do the same for flying……..greg

From: Bou'bound
23-Sep-21
At what point do you submit. When all final test info in added?

From: kota-man
23-Sep-21
You can submit it at anytime and delete the trip it if you want. My trip was “fluid” on date and time of crossing and I think I submitted/deleted 4 times before I finally went. The ArriveCAN app process is simple. Do a “test run” using a date within 72 hours. Just delete it if f the dates aren’t correct. Resubmit when you’re ready to go.

23-Sep-21
We just had 2 American hunters get through the border yesterday with no trouble. Both were driving.

From: Kurt
23-Sep-21
Several American hunters arrived Monday in an NWT base camp. One missed his flight from Calgary to Edmonton due to entry into Canada taking almost 3 hrs for him. He said the agent he was with acted like this was his first American he processed. No real problems, just slow. He caught a later flight to Edmonton that day.

Also FYI they were in quarantine in Norman Wells at their hotel and the restaurant is shut down at the Heritage where most hunters stay.

It was easier to come in through Whitehorse for me sure.

23-Sep-21
Bou, Your one page ArriveCan receipt should have a V on it. But make sure the 2 page email says "Vaccinated " under your name. If it says "Vaccination Document. Please see Canadian border services officer upon arrival" it will cost you another 20 to 30 minutes at the airport. Near as i can tell there was something slightly abnormal on our vaccination cards to cause that. And maybe its out of our control to fix it. I redid my ArriveCan app and it still occurred.

From: JL
23-Sep-21
""Just to be clear. Americans can drive into Canada for leisure. Canadians can't drive into the US for leisure. Our leader is an idiot. Yours is a dumbass.""

^....that winning enter deserves a TTT.

From: BullBuster
23-Sep-21
Well said JL

From: grape
24-Sep-21
Bou, you submit when you are ready to go. Basically, you can do a “test run” as Kota said or a practice run without putting in the correct date til you are ready. I would be happy to talk you through it in a phone conversation. Let me know…Greg

From: huntinelk
24-Sep-21
My confirmation email has an I on it and says immunized, not a V and vaccinated as stated above. Anybody else have this on the confirmation?

From: Bou'bound
24-Sep-21
can you set up multiple tests if more than one is being scheduled

From: Katahdin
24-Sep-21
So I just talked to my friend in Newfoundland and asked what problems Americans are having getting into Canada. It seems that New Brunswick has just instituted a form that must be submitted and approved before entry. I just sent mine but I'm getting close to the covid test window. And can you imagine if you were in Newfoundland moose hunting and trying to return. What a cluster

From: Elauwit
25-Sep-21
I crossed into New Brunswick on Labor Day which was a Monday. I got a PCR test at Well Now on Saturday. Had the results emailed and text to be at 9:00 Saturday night. I filled in the Arrive Now stuff on my phone Sunday morning. I crossed in Houlton Maine Monday morning. I started to hand the border agent my phone and he asked for my passport. I had my vaccination card, the PCR test results and a business card where I was staying paper clipped with the passport. He asked me a couple of the stranded questions and sent me on my way. Didn't take over 5 minutes/

From: Katahdin
26-Sep-21
Yesterday morning New Brunswick went into a state of emergency. They instituted a system for vaccination proof and travel plans. They now have provincial officers at border crossings as well as customs. My outfitter suggested that travel would be difficult and I changed my plans to travel to Matapedia yesterday.

From: Bou'bound
30-Sep-21
Any tips on using the ArriveCAN app?

From: Bou'bound
30-Sep-21
Jim how did the test in Calgary to get back into the us go. Advise when you have the experience

From: Bou'bound
30-Sep-21
At what point do you submit. When all final test info in added?

From: kota-man
30-Sep-21
That’s one misconception I’ve seen regarding the app. You don’t add your test info. Passport, Vax Card and quarantine plan. You show either a paper copy or your phone with negative test at the border. You submit your info on the app once you complete the required info. (Within 3 days of travel). You then get a confirmation number. When you arrive at the border, they scan your passport and your ArriveCAN info is in front of the agent. My border crossing took about 30 seconds.

From: Bou'bound
01-Oct-21
Thanks

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