Border Check

Canada: 26 land border crossings change hours from 1 November

FlightProof · 2026-11-08

📌 The short version: From 2 a.m. local time on 1 November 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency runs new opening hours at 26 land crossings — nine in British Columbia, four in Alberta and thirteen in Manitoba — and keeps them until 2 a.m. on 14 March 2027. No visa, eTA or document rule changed: only when the booths are open.

Why the hours moved

The three provinces moved to permanent year-round daylight saving time, so the neighbouring US crossings shifted their clocks with them. CBSA aligned its side rather than leave a mismatch at the line, where a Canadian port would be open an hour later or earlier than the American one beside it.

The agency published the change on 9 October 2026 in three separate releases — one per province — which is why a single combined hours table does not exist. Each port has its own traveller and commercial schedule.

What it looks like in practice

Port	Example traveller hours
Aldergrove, BC	9:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Carway, AB	8:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Cartwright, MB	9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

CBSA advises using an alternate port if yours is closed when you need it — and checking the schedule for the specific crossing rather than for the province, because the spread inside a province is wide.

What has not changed

Every document rule still stands: passport, eTA or visa as applicable, and the questions at the booth. A border officer can ask where you are going, how long you are staying and how you will leave — and on a land crossing, how you will leave is the question travellers most often cannot answer, because they drove in.

🧭 Carry the answer, not the story.

Keep your onward booking, flight reservation or return leg available offline — border areas have thin signal.
If you are crossing to catch a flight, keep the itinerary with your passport, not in an email you cannot open.
Winter hours are shorter at several ports: a late arrival now means a closed booth, not a longer queue.

Who this affects most

Cross-border commuters, snowbirds and commercial drivers in BC, Alberta and Manitoba — and anyone whose route home runs through a small port that used to be open later. If your trip depends on one crossing at one hour, re-check it this week rather than in March.

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Sources: Canada Border Services Agency releases on hours of service in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, all published 9 October 2026; CBSA notice that the new hours take effect at 2:00 a.m. local time on 1 November 2026 and run until 2:00 a.m. on 14 March 2027. Check the schedule for your specific port before travelling.