The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced a significant change to how individuals can enter the country through its vast, sparsely populated border regions. The long-standing Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) Program will be officially terminated, with its final permits expiring in September 2025.
What Was the RABC Program?
For years, the RABC program facilitated entry for thousands of people, primarily American citizens, wishing to cross into Canada at specific remote locations without needing to appear at a staffed border station. This system was popular among hunters, anglers, canoeists, fishing guides, and property owners with cabins or land in isolated Canadian areas.
Under the program, travellers obtained a permit that allowed them to cross in designated zones, though they were still obligated to declare any goods being brought into the country. Permit holders were not allowed to travel beyond the immediate remote area or import firearms without an in-person declaration at a formal port of entry.
The New Rules Coming in 2026
According to the CBSA, the RABC program will formally end just before midnight on September 13, 2025, with all existing permits expiring the following day. Starting in 2026, anyone wishing to enter Canada in these remote regions will have two options.
They must either present themselves in person at a manned customs checkpoint or utilize a new telephone reporting system from designated sites. The specific details and locations for this phone-in system are slated to be established early in 2026, following consultations with local law enforcement, Indigenous communities, and businesses.
The CBSA stated that this change "ensures a consistent level of security and expectations of compliance for everyone" by aligning remote area entry with processes already used elsewhere in Canada.
Affected Remote Border Regions
The now-scrapped program covered five specific remote areas:
- The region from Pigeon River to Lake of the Woods on the Ontario-Minnesota border near Thunder Bay.
- The Canadian shores of Lake Superior.
- The upper locks of the Soo Locks near Sault Ste. Marie.
- Cockburn Island at the northern end of Lake Huron.
- The Northwest Angle area on Lake of the Woods, approximately 60 kilometres southwest of Kenora, Ontario.
The agency reports that roughly 11,000 people enroll in the program each year, with about 90% of participants being American nationals. The move signifies a shift towards more standardized border reporting, even in the country's most isolated frontier zones.
