Current Border Situation

[MyronL]

"I do find that a cannabis based salve seems to work to keep my back loosened up"

I'll back you up on that, Slowpat. We've found it quite effective.

[Rossue]

A friend makes tea from leaves then makes ice cubes to use in any drink to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis with great effect.

[AnJ]

We have Nexus as well and one year we were searched multiple times... to the point that the border guards were sympathetic that they had to search us. They said that each Nexus card can come up with random mandatory searches up to 3 times per year, I believe, so for the 2 of us, that could mean we could expect up to 6 searches per year. The searches were both ways- crossing north and south. We always record and keep receipts of anything purchased, have a specific trip planned out and everything organized. We keep the bare minimum of supplies in our vehicles and label and organize everything in the trailer, don't bring down anything other than pantry items for food, no firewood, dog food in unopened original packages, etc. We've never been delayed by a search for more than 30 minutes, mostly waiting our turn, and they've never said anything, just handed back our keys and said we were free to go. Thankfully, we haven't been searched in a while... but you can get random searches with Nexus that just come up when your card is scanned, regardless of how you answer their questions, etc.

[Upfisk]

We are headed to the Escape rally in May. The two of us drink a bottle of wine a day. How much wine can we bring across the border for personal consumption? Our Escape wine cellar holds around 20 bottles. Can we pay a tax on the extras we import?

We used to annually spend 6 months in the Caribbean and would return with 12 bottles or more of French wine. We checked the state dept website "know before you go" on bringing back more than 1.5 liters of wine. Turned out the tax was less than 0.10 per liter on the excess. We always reported the wine and what we paid, Customs would waive the tax and let us back into the US for free. Hope the Canadian import fees are simular. Then we can add some Canadian wines to our collection.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Upfisk

We are headed to the Escape rally in May. The two of us drink a bottle of wine a day. How much wine can we bring across the border for personal consumption? Our Escape wine cellar holds around 20 bottles. Can we pay a tax on the extras we import?

We used to annually spend 6 months in the Caribbean and would return with 12 bottles or more of French wine. We checked the state dept website "know before you go" on bringing back more than 1.5 liters of wine. Turned out the tax was less than 0.10 per liter on the excess. We always reported the wine and what we paid, Customs would waive the tax and let us back into the US for free. Hope the Canadian import fees are simular. Then we can add some Canadian wines to our collection.

We stopped in California on our way to Osoyoos in 2017 and Noelle's family gave us a case of California wine. I had to find a place near Osoyoos to drop it off as we were only allowed, maybe 3 bottles without paying additional fees. I found a nice store in Oroville, Wa that stored our wine and we picked it up on the way home. All they asked was that we purchase something in their store, which we gladly did because of the Customs restrictions leaving Canada. The additional import fees would have been extremely $$ otherwise. In addition the wineries in Osoyoos are very nice also and Escape offers wine tours during the rally for additional fee.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Upfisk

We are headed to the Escape rally in May. The two of us drink a bottle of wine a day. How much wine can we bring across the border for personal consumption? Our Escape wine cellar holds around 20 bottles. Can we pay a tax on the extras we import?

We used to annually spend 6 months in the Caribbean and would return with 12 bottles or more of French wine. We checked the state dept website "know before you go" on bringing back more than 1.5 liters of wine. Turned out the tax was less than 0.10 per liter on the excess. We always reported the wine and what we paid, Customs would waive the tax and let us back into the US for free. Hope the Canadian import fees are simular. Then we can add some Canadian wines to our collection.

You can bring as much as you like (within reason), you just have to claim it and pay duty and taxes on any wine over 1.5 litres each. Duty and taxes are not all that bad, and are way less than the extra you pay for booze in Canada in most cases. Keep in mind that there are hordes of wineries near Osoyoos, and you may want to try some local fares. The wine tour during the rally is always lots of fun, you don't get to see near all the good stuff available but can do that at other times during your stay.

Taking Canadian wine back to the US is very cheap if you wanted to do so. According to folks at the wineries who see lots of American tourists, it is $0.25 per bottle duty if they even decide to charge you.

[kootenaigirl]

You may want to check with the border you are crossing at as I have heard bringing wine over your regular exemption to BC can be pricey and these articles also state that.
I have no idea if they are accurate.
Bringing Wine Back to Canada After a Trip - WINELAW.CA
Canadian Alcohol Duty Calculator

[Jim Bennett]

What we brought back last March is excess of what is allowed was 2 bottles of spirits, 3 bottles of wine, and 5 dozen beer. I claimed it and was charged near $25 CAD in duties and taxes. They did allow use to claim for free two of the most expensive bottles of spirits each. They just quickly calculated based on what I told them, never even checked anything out, took my money, and set me on my way a couple minutes later. This was at the Coutts crossing in Alberta.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Lucky he didn't give you a vasectomy.

Hi: gbaglo... We have "Free" health care Eh? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Taking Canadian wine back to the US is very cheap if you wanted to do so. According to folks at the wineries who see lots of American tourists, it is $0.25 per bottle duty if they even decide to charge you.

The real cost however is the relative high price of Canadian wine due to the high taxes. Then there is another aspect: if you drink white wine great, however if you prefer red wines then Canadian wine kinda struggles in that department unless you like Merlot.

I say this after going to several wineries on the south end of Okanagon Lake and hearing from staff about the realities of red wine in that region.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Rossue

The real cost however is the relative high price of Canadian wine due to the high taxes. Then there is another aspect: if you drink white wine great, however if you prefer red wines then Canadian wine kinda struggles in that department unless you like Merlot.



I say this after going to several wineries on the south end of Okanagon Lake and hearing from staff about the realities of red wine in that region.

Yeah, tax on booze is terrible. The same bottle in the US, even after exchange is way cheaper. Still, some find stuff they like that they could not get elsewhere.

There are actually quite a few good reds now, Merlot's were the first to be grown, now there are more other really nice tasting reds and blends. The further south you go, the better the red grapes grow. Still, the amount of good whites outweigh that of the Reds by 10 to 1.

[Anachr0n]

Saying you're going to Quartzite is fine. Just don't ever say you are going to, or coming from, Burning Man.

You're pretty much guaranteed to get searched.

[Sandra L]

Sorry state of affairs...I, for one, think all people should be treated politely, at least until proven unworthy...and then in a business-like manner...perhaps I expect too much..

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Sandra L

Sorry state of affairs...I, for one, think all people should be treated politely, at least until proven unworthy...and then in a business-like manner...perhaps I expect too much..

I think all people should be paid for doing their jobs, not ordered to work without pay for political reasons... and of course we are not discussing those political reasons here. But hey, the world is not always the way we think that it should be.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I think all people should be paid for doing their jobs, not ordered to work without pay for political reasons.

Hey! It's a free country.

[Anachr0n]

I think what we're dealing with right now at US customs is "Essential Services" staffing levels and possibly some work-to-rule. Some officers might not be reporting to work so the ones we encounter are working short-handed AND without pay.

In terms of treatment; At both Canadian and US ports of entry I have experienced what I call "the shift". This is where the mood changes from polite and congenial, to more business-like. What they're asking/doing might seem unfair and inconsistent to me, and I can infer all I want about their motivation. But I have to remember than I am a guest in their house, asking for permission to come in. I have never seen one of them lose their cool, despite seeing many travelers lash out.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by Anachr0n

I think what we're dealing with right now at US customs is "Essential Services" staffing levels and possibly some work-to-rule. Some officers might not be reporting to work so the ones we encounter are working short-handed AND without pay.

That may be happening now at the Pembina ND crossing, the busiest between the west coast and MI. Yesterday afternoon there were over 40 transports lined up to the crossing on the MB side awaiting processing. Never seen such a long line here.

[KirkB]

We crossed from BC into the US at Peace Arch yesterday with our Escape, so thought I would chime in with my latest experience.

Just one car ahead of us in line (regular line up, not Nexus). The agent was very friendly, asked where we were going, whether we had any groceries, fruit, alcohol, tobacco, weapons. This time we decided to do grocery shopping after crossing, so we didn't have any what he cared about, and were on our way in minutes. I didn't see anything different due to the government funding situation. Hope it gets resolved soon, it affects so many people.

I have been pulled over on 2 previous occasions for secondary inspections with our Escape. It's not a lot of fun waiting inside, after they take your keys and go out to look through your vehicles. Once they were questioning us about the dog food we had. I had checked it out at home and made sure it was OK, but had forgotten the details by the time I crossed the border. The other time, I think I hesitated when he asked about what food we had brought with us, as my wife had packed the food.

I think there is a random element, that they pull over a certain percentage of travellers. I also think that you have a greater chance of being pulled over if you don't appear to know precisely what you are bringing, or can't quickly give specific travel plans and dates.

[Chris & Patricia]

Not withstanding the comments about being guests in their country, many of us have suffered at the hands of unreasonable and overreaching questions from Border Control staff. The frustration is that if you don’t zip your frustrations when asked unreasonable questions, it could severely impact you in the future as it’s almost impossible to fight these guys if you end up being in a black list due to attitude even if their questions are unfair.

[Donna D.]

I am far from a world traveler. I've crossed into Canada a total of five times. I've been to Mexico twice. Once flying to Acapulco for an ocean cruise and once walked across from San Diego to Tijuana. But that was back in 1968! And yes, in all those cases I was a guest of a foreign country. I knew to be polite if I ever wanted to go back.


The biggest issues I often read about are those individuals who try to drag their country's laws along with them. Those are left at the border. Border Guards have full autonomy to decide what questions they can ask and they're not restricted to what someone thinks is fair. None of us will ever be privy to any alerts or information and what guards are told to look out for. The very best thing we can do is be polite, truthful and patient and don't think you're being picked on. You don't know the rest of the story.