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The president of the Canada Border Services Agency said she doesn’t think it’s harder to cross the Canada-U.S. border today than in the past, as data shows U.S. customs searched a record number of electronic devices last year.
“Every day, we are seeing thousands of people go back and forth, whether it be land border or in air,” Erin O’Gorman said in an interview with CBC’s The House airing Saturday morning.
That said, O’Gorman told host Catherine Cullen she’s heard individual stories of phones being examined by American border officials.
Last year, U.S. customs officers conducted a record number of searches of electronic devices, and an update to its directives added new devices such as smart watches, SIM cards and flash drives to the list of things subject to search.
Officers searched 55,318 computers, cellphones and other devices in 2025, up 17.6 per cent from the 47,047 devices searched in 2024 and up 32.4 per cent from the 41,767 devices searched in 2023, according to statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Device searches at the U.S. border are up, according to U.S. data. (Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press)
CBP officials won’t reveal what percentage of those searches were at the northern border with Canada or southern border with Mexico. Nor would they provide a breakdown between searches at airports versus land borders or a by land border posts.
Last year, the federal government quietly updated its online travel advice to remind Canadians to “expect scrutiny” from border patrol officials if they travel to the U.S. and noted “significant” discretion officers have in deciding who enters the country.
When asked whether the Canada-U.S. border is more secure than how it was in the last year or two, O’Gorman said the border “has been secure and remains secure.”
Official figures from Statistics Canada show a roughly 25 per cent decline in Canadian residents returning from the U.S. last year. But cellphone data compiled by researchers at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities found that the year-over-year drop in cross-border trips was closer to 42 per cent.
Temporary border measures amid Ebola outbreak
On Tuesday, the federal government announced it would suspend immigration documents for residents of countries with a high or very high risk of Ebola disease for the next 90 days. It includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents and other foreign nationals who have been in affected areas in recent weeks and do not have symptoms will have to quarantine for 21 days starting May 30, according to a statement from Canada’s public health agency.
“If they do not have a place where they can quarantine safely, they will be provided with an appropriate location,” the federal government said.
WATCH | Canada’s Ebola clampdown:
Ebola outbreak spurs Canadian clampdown on travellers, immigration
A growing Ebola outbreak and concerns about World Cup travel has pushed the federal government to clamp down on travel and immigration from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. Travellers will have to self-isolate for 21 days and immigration documents will be temporarily suspended.
The government said Canadian citizens and permanent residents could still return to Canada and would undergo screening at ports of entry upon their arrival.
“If they do not have a place where they can quarantine safely, they will be provided with an appropriate location,” the federal government said.
O’Gorman said the screening process will be “subtle.”
“When people come into airports, they go to a kiosk — they answer several questions relating to whether they’ve been on a farm, whether they’re carrying more than $10,000 in cash,” the CBSA president said.
“And there will be new questions about whether they have been in those areas.”
CBSA is not physically screening people, O’Gorman said. Instead, people who answer questions related to the Ebola outbreak will then be met with a public health official who will help them work on their quarantine plan.
“So we play a critical role in terms of identifying those passengers, but then really doing a hand-off to the public health agency,” O’Gorman said.
WATCH | Head of World Health Organization arrives in Congo:
WHO chief arrives in Congo, says Ebola outbreak ‘can be stopped’
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, says he’s in the Democratic Republic of Congo to show that communities affected by the Ebola outbreak ‘are not alone’ and to ensure they have all they need to stop the spread.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel has said Canada is aligned with the U.S. and Mexico, the World Cup’s two other host countries. But she also said she has only directly spoken with her Mexican counterpart, and not the U.S.
O’Gorman told Cullen as Canada heads into the FIFA World Cup, “we want to have a North American perimeter and we want it to not be confusing for individuals.”
She deferred to Michel on the effectiveness of the policy and said the CBSA “stands ready to implement the policies as they’re put in place.”