Late evening at the Peace Arch border crossing between Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia, this week revealed a striking contrast between the number of open lanes and the few vehicles crossing into Canada. While all eight lanes were illuminated and staffed to accommodate anticipated World Cup-related travel, only a couple of cars passed through, leaving most stations largely idle.

This pattern reflects broader trends observed during the first weeks of the FIFA World Cup, which began June 11. Canadian authorities, particularly the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), had prepared for a significant influx of international visitors by maintaining extended staffing hours at major crossings, including the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway routes connecting Vancouver and Seattle. According to the Customs and Immigration Union, staffing at these points runs from 8 a.m. to midnight, while smaller border posts in British Columbia operate with full staff from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.—a shift funded by federal contributions linked to the tournament.

However, figures provided by the CBSA for June 1 to June 18 show only modest changes in cross-border traffic compared to previous years. During the first week of World Cup play, U.S. arrivals via land into Canada were up 9 percent compared with the same period last year, which is only a 2 percentage point increase over early June before the tournament began. International land arrivals actually declined slightly year-over-year. Meanwhile, Canadian citizen crossings rose by 10 percent during the first week of play, a 6-point increase over pre-tournament levels.

The CBSA has emphasized its collaborative preparations with FIFA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and multiple federal agencies to manage anticipated travel volumes. Agency spokeswoman Kelly Cameron stated that staffing adjustments are continuously made to minimize wait times while maintaining safety and security.

Despite these efforts, questions have been raised about the necessity of the large-scale deployment of border agents. The federal government is expected to shoulder nearly half of the estimated $1.1 billion expenditure related to the World Cup, which includes $4.3 million allocated specifically for border security, while Public Safety Canada’s spending on this front totals approximately $145 million. Critics such as Carson Binda of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation argue that the data do not justify this level of expenditure, calling for greater transparency on government spending.

Historical parallels were drawn by Customs and Immigration Union officials, noting similar surges in border staffing during events like the 2010 Winter Olympics and Toronto Blue Jays games in Seattle, where inflows of Canadian travelers proved more substantial.

The subdued cross-border activity corresponds with underwhelming hotel occupancy rates in Canadian cities hosting World Cup matches. In Vancouver, data from Destination Vancouver indicates that overall bookings for June have increased compared to previous weeks but remain below 2025 levels, with downtown hotels reaching 69 percent occupancy versus 86 percent last year. In Toronto, Bayview Group, which operates nine hotels with over 1,500 rooms, reports June bookings as roughly flat with last year but approximately 7 percent below internal projections.

Sameer Gulamani, managing director and general counsel for Bayview Group, attributes the tepid international turnout not to over-investment in border measures but to insufficient efforts in promoting attendance. He also cited government messaging that deterred visitors by warning of potential “pandemonium” and advising avoidance of urban centers, which he contends was misleading. “If you’re hosting an event like FIFA, you have to have the infrastructure in place to handle it,” he said. “But the message that you give folks is very important... It didn’t turn out that way.”