Wait Times At The Canada-US Land Border Vary So Much RN & Some Lines Are 3 Hours Long

The wait times at the Canada-U.S. land border varied from zero minutes to 3 hours on Monday morning, when the American borders opened fully for the first time in 20 months.

As of 10:00 a.m. EST on November 8, several ports of entry into the United States — including the Blaine Pacific Highway Border Crossing, the Calais–Milltown Border Crossing, International Falls and all of the operating bridges between Niagara Falls and Buffalo — had an expected wait time of just five minutes or less.

It's a little busier over at the Ambassador Bridge and Blaine Peace Arch border crossings, where cars are waiting for around 20 minutes on average to cross over into the States.

The lines at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing are around 45 minutes, while the Sweetgrass–Coutts lines are approximately 40 minutes long.

Without a doubt, though, the busiest crossing is currently the Champlain–St. Bernard de Lacolle Border Crossing, with an estimated wait time of around three hours, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website.

It's the first time since March 2020 that travel across the Canada-U.S. land border has fully restarted after the States delayed their land border reopening.

On Monday, fully vaccinated travellers from around the world were welcomed back into the States via land and air for non-essential purposes, with just a few travel restrictions in place.

In the days prior, American officials warned that travel volume and wait times at the land border were expected to increase and urged travellers to "exercise patience" wherever possible.

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.