CBSA reports dramatic drop in traffic coming into Canada

Travel into Canada is dramatically lower compared to this time last year, as a result of the ban on non-essential travel imposed on March 21 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a media release from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), travel volume during the week of April 20 to April 26 was down more than 90 per cent for those crossing via land, and more than 97 per cent at airports, compared to the same time a year ago.

On April 26 alone, travel on U.S. flights was down almost 99 per cent, while international air travel was down more than 97 per cent compared to 2019. These numbers are consistent with figures from April 13 to April 19. 

Commercial truck traffic — much of it flowing across the Ambassador Bridge — is 33 per cent lower than it was at this time in 2019.

According to Laurie Tannous, vice-president of government relations with the Farrow customs brokerage firm, the drop can be attributed to the shutdowns in the automotive and manufacturing industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tannous said with people not buying certain goods, manufacturing of non-automotive goods has also been curtailed.

"I think companies were over-buying, thinking that consumers were going to purchase and they haven't. Consumers have been focusing their purchases on the essentials, on the necessities," she said.

According to the CBSA, there have been no restrictions placed on commercial truck traffic crossing the border.

In a statement, the CBSA said, "it must be noted that no measures have been introduced restricting commercial shipments or rendering certain products as non-essential, nor is there any indication of issues with supply chains for essential goods coming to Canada, including food and medical supplies."