OTTAWA — New legislation has been announced that will expand Canada’s highly popular preclearance agreement with the U.S.
The expansion — which now includes passage by land, water and train — will allow more Canadians to enjoy the benefits of preclearance, which includes direct access to more U.S. destinations, as well as greater economic growth for local economies that will benefit from increased tourism.
“Today, the Government of Canada demonstrated its commitment to strengthening its relationship with the United States and to ensuring a more efficient and secure border, by introducing the legislation required to implement the Canada–U.S. Preclearance Agreement,” says Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. “When it takes effect, the agreement will provide the legal framework that will enable the expansion of preclearance operations in all modes of transportation.”
The preclearance initiative builds on Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama’s discussions to expand preclearance to a number of new Canadian locations, including Quebec’s Jean Lesage International Airport, Toronto’s Billy Bishop City Airport, Montreal Central Station and the Rocky Mountaineer.
Preclearance operations currently take place at eight Canadian airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
