CBSA Southern Ontario Region operational and enforcement highlights from 2020 - Protecting and Supporting Canadians

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Southern Ontario Region has released operational and enforcement highlights that demonstrate how CBSA employees throughout the region have worked to safeguard our communities while supporting the economy during these unprecedented times.

The 2020 operational and enforcement highlights cover January 1 to October 31, 2020.

Asylum claims

• From January 1 to October 31, 2020, CBSA Southern Ontario Region (SOR) processed 1026 asylum claims of which 84% were deemed eligible.
  • The Peace Bridge Refugee Processing centre alone managed 679 of the total SOR asylum claims in the first 10 months of 2020.

Tobacco seizures

• For the period January 1 to October 31, 2020, the total amount of tobacco seized in SOR increased by 313% compared to the same period in 2019 (92,956 kg in 2019 compared to 383,497 kg in 2020) equating to a total value of $68.1 million.
  • The Ambassador Bridge has seized 282,161 kg of manufactured tobacco within this period which accounts for 74% of SOR's total tobacco seizures in 2020 up to October 31.

Narcotics seizures

• For the period January 1 to October 31, 2020, the value of narcotics seizures has increased by 98% compared to the same period in 2019 ($32 million in 2019 compared to $64 million in 2020) with a combined weight of 589 kg. Just over 44% of the all cocaine seized nationally, occurred in the Southern Ontario Region.
  • Within these totals, a record amount of 255 kg of cocaine with a value of $31.9 million was seized at the Blue Water Bridge on September 8, 2020 and 117.7 kg of cocaine worth $14 million was seized at the Queenston Bridge on Aug 18.

Firearms seizures

• From March 23 to October 31, 2020, 134 firearms were seized in the Southern Ontario Region. This was just under a third of the national total.

Commercial processing

• From January 1 to October 31, 2020, the Southern Ontario Region processed 2,560,959 trucks which accounted for 57.5% of the national volume.
  • Just under half of the trucks in the region were processed at the Ambassador Bridge.

Traveller processing

• From March 23 to October 31, 2020, amidst the ongoing restrictions placed on cross border traffic, SOR has processed over 2.6 million travellers.
  • During this period, the Ambassador Bridge has processed 23% of all national traffic.
  • The Windsor Tunnel has remained a vital port for non-discretionary travellers between the United States and Canada with approximately 30% of SOR traveller volumes processed at that port of entry.