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Originally posted by nhracecraft:

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I would not have answered those questions. I also wouldn’t have those bumper stickers, but maybe that’s just me.

Without the 2A and Gadsen Emblems, it's likely you wouldn't even get asked ANY of those questions! They surely ask if you had any firearms, but that's it. And, absolutely NO way I'd have those on my motorhome either! That just invites the wrong type of attention from far too many that you'd rather not engage with. Plus Motorhomes/RVs are just WAY too easy to break into to risk the damage/loss/hassle anyway, regardless of whether you've got firearms with you. Nope...

Yeah... I understand the desire to speak your mind and to show your support for the 2A and defending our rights and freedoms ... but, when crossing borders you don't want to draw attention.

Now, if only we protected our own southern border like Canada does.

Be respectful, yes sir, no sir and answer truthfully. Yes, it's a pain in the ass, yes, we think their laws are ridiculous, but it's their country and custom officers can make your life a living hell if they want. Border inspection stations are usually inside the border, so just turning around may not be an option. Piss them off and you may be spending some time in a room by yourself.

When I moved to Alaska, I brought several firearms with me when I drove the ALCAN. Spent a lot of time researching their laws, applying for permits and making sure I was in compliance with their transportation laws. Yes, I did have to go through secondary inspection, but it was fast and relatively painless. They looked at 2 of my handguns, saw that I was in compliance and wished me a good trip. I got to hear all kinds of horror stories from them about secondary inspection; people not declaring prohibited items, fines, vehicle confiscation, etc.

Now the big pain in the ass for crossing into Canada is the restrictions they've placed on allowing animals in. I'm probably going to have have my dog microchipped again to be in compliance with their new laws.

Yes, Canada can be ridiculous. Unfortunately I have to deal with them at border crossings.

Surprisingly, they did not ask a single question about my dog. I have all the vaccination records ready. They did not ask for anything.

Be advised that as of August 1, 2024 bringing back our dog back to the US requires a form from CDC. I had my veterinarian fill out that form for our dog just in case. Check out that new CDC guideline before your next trip with your dog.

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Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Now the big pain in the ass for crossing into Canada is the restrictions they've placed on allowing animals in. I'm probably going to have have my dog microchipped again to be in compliance with their new laws.

You have no rights at the border, and being flippant will get you turned around. If you think just going to another crossing will outsmart them, think again.

(I've crossed MI/ONT at various locations hundreds of times)

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Originally posted by MikeNH:

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I would not have answered those questions. I also wouldn’t have those bumper stickers, but maybe that’s just me.

Then you likely would not have gotten into Canada. I have been into the country probably 100+ times now and they're suffocatingly serious.

This - it's their country and they take that very seriously. I lived by the border for most of my life and crossed more times than I can remember - but even back in the day, they didn't play around when asking these questions.

My exchange was kind of funny. Trying to get into the country for a TDY they asked what kind of business I would be doing, I said “government”. “Anything more specific?”. Not at this time, secret shit and all.

Luckily he understood and let me go.

On the way back in the US agent was an old EOD guy who let me in without even looking at my orders.

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Originally posted by Dzozer:

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Originally posted by MikeNH:

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I would not have answered those questions. I also wouldn’t have those bumper stickers, but maybe that’s just me.

Then you likely would not have gotten into Canada. I have been into the country probably 100+ times now and they're suffocatingly serious.

This - it's their country and they take that very seriously. I lived by the border for most of my life and crossed more times than I can remember - but even back in the day, they didn't play around when asking these questions.

Decades ago they were far less stringent than US Customs. I could get over by answering a few questions, often times only one question ("Any goods?"), occasionally had to provide my MI drivers license, never a passport. It's changed now, mostly due to 9/11, and from what others are saying, the pandemic insanity. Haven't tried going over since.

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Originally posted by sse:

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Originally posted by Dzozer:

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Originally posted by MikeNH:

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Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I would not have answered those questions. I also wouldn’t have those bumper stickers, but maybe that’s just me.

Then you likely would not have gotten into Canada. I have been into the country probably 100+ times now and they're suffocatingly serious.

This - it's their country and they take that very seriously. I lived by the border for most of my life and crossed more times than I can remember - but even back in the day, they didn't play around when asking these questions.

Decades ago they were far less stringent than US Customs. I could get over by answering a few questions, often times only one question ("Any goods?"), occasionally had to provide my MI drivers license, never a passport. It's changed now, mostly due to 9/11, and from what others are saying, the pandemic insanity. Haven't tried going over since.

I've only ever been over for work as an adult so there is extra scrutiny but my favorite exchange was around this time in 2022 as they still had rona policies which included scanning in your info to some phone app. It was clunky and a pain in the ass but it generated a QR code the customs agent was supposed to scan. When I got to her desk she asked to see it and just looked at the code, did not scan anything. So either it was BS or the Canadians got some good robots. haha

To be clear: Canada takes its border as seriously as we take our border. If, say, a Mexican citizen came to our border and told our border patrol officers to mind their own business about a question asked, think about the reaction you would want the BP officer to have. Now apply that to your answers and attitude at the Canada border. Act like you would want others to act, not like you are trying to prove a point to foreigners that are too stupid to be Americans and love America.

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Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Be respectful, yes sir, no sir and answer truthfully. Yes, it's a pain in the ass, yes, we think their laws are ridiculous, but it's their country and custom officers can make your life a living hell if they want.

Back in the mid 90's I flew freight all over the US, Canada, and Mexico. We crossed the border daily. Yes, you want to be nondescript and polite if you want things to go smoothly!

One of our captains had a way of insulting somebody every single trip. After dropping freight in Mexico City we were coming back empty and were clearing US customs in Brownsville, TX (which sits right on the border). We parked the airplane in front of the customs building and went inside with our documents. The Customs agent was obviously of Central American descent, with his name tag confirming it. He asked if we were bringing anything out of Mexico. The captain responds "The only thing I want out of Mexico is ME!"

Way to go, captain, insult the man's family heritage.

The agent told us to wait there. He and his coworker went to the airplane and left us standing there for at least half an hour. Then he came back in and told us we could go.

When we got to the airplane we found our suitcases open and the contents spread out on the (dirty) diamond plate floor. Every access panel in the aircraft was opened. They'd pulled out all the chart binders and had them scattered around the cargo area.

Yeah, be polite.

Never happened to me but i've heard horror stories about being detained, searched without any particular provocation. i did find some agents to be relatively laid back, while others seemed hostile and looking for a reason...got a few good stories

Looking at Fly-Sig's story, I had one that was sort of the opposite.

This was sometime around 2005, give or take a year or two. I was working at my equipment rental business and got a phone call from a friend who flew a company's airplane. He was sick and unable to make a flight, asked me if I could cover for him.

I went to the Orlando-Sanford airport (SFB) to pick up the client's Piper Aztec and flew it empty, to Freeport (Bahamas) to bring the owner and his wife back home. I did the Bahamas customs / immigration paperwork, filed the flight plan for the return to the U.S., and we climbed aboard.

Both engines refused to start. No combustion. Nada. Zilch. Bupkis. Finally got hold of a mechanic, he got them both started, and we flew to Fort Pierce FL, to clear U.S. customs / immigration. The owner of the airplane told me not to shut the engines down, I should stay in the airplane and keep it running.

Now, I had re-entered the U.S. from the Bahamas hundreds of times since I started flying in 1964, and this was just NOT done! You land, go directly to the customs building, shut down, and everybody goes inside. But owner told me to stay in airplane.

Couple minutes later, owner comes out of customs building with a Customs Agent. Agent looks at me, waves, and walks back into the building, owner climbs aboard, and says "Let's go," and I took off and returned to home base (SFB).

I have no idea what magic he invoked, but whatever it was, it worked.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
I have no idea what magic he invoked, but whatever it was, it worked.

When I was on a WestPac tour in 92 to Japan, we had to go to Korea to expend any ornance. If we landed in Korea we had to "go through customs" upon return to Japan. The customes agent would just meet us at the jet when we landed and ask if we had anything to declare. The answer was always "no."

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Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Be respectful, yes sir, no sir and answer truthfully. Yes, it's a pain in the ass, yes, we think their laws are ridiculous, but it's their country and custom officers can make your life a living hell if they want. Border inspection stations are usually inside the border, so just turning around may not be an option. Piss them off and you may be spending some time in a room by yourself.

When I moved to Alaska, I brought several firearms with me when I drove the ALCAN. Spent a lot of time researching their laws, applying for permits and making sure I was in compliance with their transportation laws. Yes, I did have to go through secondary inspection, but it was fast and relatively painless. They looked at 2 of my handguns, saw that I was in compliance and wished me a good trip. I got to hear all kinds of horror stories from them about secondary inspection; people not declaring prohibited items, fines, vehicle confiscation, etc.

Now the big pain in the ass for crossing into Canada is the restrictions they've placed on allowing animals in. I'm probably going to have have my dog microchipped again to be in compliance with their new laws.

Yes, Canada can be ridiculous. Unfortunately I have to deal with them at border crossings.

Can you speak to that process in any detail, both for the guns and the dog? We're thinking about doing the drive up and back next summer, and I've been researching both of those. From what I saw, the only restriction on the dog was a current rabies vaccine. Am I missing something?

The gun thing is a giant mess and seems to be a huge headache. At this point I'm kind of despairing of figuring it out, and split between trying to just ship something to Alaska to use while I'm there or just going completely without.

ETA: I've been though hundreds of border crossings, particularly in my younger years, and it's definitely not the place to get an attitude. Your constitutional rights don't apply internationally, and even coming back into the US search and seizure protections are not the same at a Port of Entry as they are inside the country. They absolutely have the legal authority to detain you and tear your shit apart, and I do my best to not give them a reason to want to do that.

Only time I've ever been to Canada was about 14yrs ago my wife and I went with her sister to Toronto and Niagara Falls. Her sister lived in Kalamazoo, so we took her car there. We crossed into Canada in Sarnia and had to explain "who the 3rd wheel was" to the Canada agent but wasn't a big deal.

We crossed back to the US in Windsor and we had bought some icewine at the duty free (which was more expensive than just buying at a Michigan grocery store we figured out later). The US agent was a female who asked me if I had anything to declare and I said "just some wine but it is less than the amount to declare."

"Turn off your car, put the keys on the roof and exit the vehicle!" she said gruffly. She opened the trunk and had me show her where the alcohol was and had me get back in and handed our passports back and said "you have brought back WAY too little alcohol, have a nice day."

Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Peru, Guyana, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Republic of Korea, China (Mainland), China (Hong Kong), Japan, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey. Those are all places I’ve cleared border control either on the government’s business or for vacation.

Coincidentally, it’s also a list of places I’ve politely answered questions and have never been delayed or sent for secondary inspection.

There is nothing gained, ever, from being “that guy” on an international border.

They are friendly like that, at Canadian Customs

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Originally posted by nasig:

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Wouldn’t it be just as easy to lie to him? I own two officer a 9mm and granddad’s old duck gun. How the hell is he going to know?

You may be surprised how much data they have access to and how much they know.Lying to them about anything can be risky

My own government does not know how many or what type of firearms I own . I can assure you the Canadians know even less . If anything .

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Originally posted by 92fstech:
Can you speak to that process in any detail, both for the guns and the dog?

E-mail sent on information I received from my vet. New regulations go into effect August 1st. They're a pain in the ass; vaccinations, certificate of health and a microchip that can be scanned verifying rabies vaccination.

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Originally posted by 92fstech:
Can you speak to that process in any detail, both for the guns and the dog?

Best advice I can give is to do your own research through reputable sources. Don't trust advice offered forums or in articles without verifying it yourself. Two good sources below.

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/non-residents

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/iefw-iefa-eng.html

Things have changed a lot since I moved here 6 years ago. Handguns now are now flat out forbidden to bring into the country. Before they were considered restricted and could not have a barrel shorter than 4.1" of be, "Capable" of holding more than 10 rounds. Anything considered an, "Assault Rifle is not allowed. Everything has to be transported in a locked case with a trigger lock.

The other change is that the permitting process has been moved from the central government to the provinces that visitors enter through. Not sure if this a a good or a bad thing. I always got straight answers from their central government but it was painful. Being placed on hold for extremely long periods of time, like over an hour.

They don't make it easy...