Travellers to Canada Now Face AI Screening 🤖✈️

If you’re planning a trip to Canada, here’s something new you should know! Individuals entering Canada at certain land ports of entry (POEs) are now being screened using AI technology.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has introduced a tool called the Travel Compliance Indicator (TCI) to help officers evaluate people entering Canada more efficiently.

What is the TCI? 🛂

The TCI assigns each traveler a “compliance score” that helps officers decide whether a person—and any goods they’re bringing—should go for a secondary examination.

Right now, the tool is being used at six land POEs (the government hasn’t revealed which ones), but the plan is to roll it out to all land POEs by late 2027, with air and sea ports to follow.

The goal? Faster, safer, and smoother border crossings. By using predictive analytics from five years of CBSA data, officers can quickly spot travelers who comply with Canada’s entry rules and avoid unnecessary delays caused by false positives.

How Does This Affect You? 🤔

The TCI is designed to reduce wait times and improve your experience at the border. Secondary security referrals caused by mistakes (false positives) can slow down processing for everyone, so the TCI helps officers focus on potential risks while letting compliant travelers pass more easily.

That said, the CBSA notes that if an officer acts on an inaccurate AI recommendation, it could have longer-term consequences. The important part? Officers make all final decisions—the TCI is just a helpful guide.

How the AI Screening Works 🖥️

The TCI uses AI and predictive modeling to generate a compliance score based on a traveler’s information from multiple databases. Key factors include:

• Travel history from CBSA records 📜

• Means of transport (car, plane, or ship) 🚗✈️🛳️

• Whether the traveler is alone or with companions 👤👥

• Type of ID presented 🆔

• Vehicle details (like license plates) 🚘

This information is compared to established compliance patterns to predict whether someone is likely to follow Canadian regulations.

Remember, the score itself does not decide the outcome. It simply flags travelers whose information matches certain patterns, helping officers determine if secondary screening is needed.

The Bigger Picture 🌐

The TCI has been piloted at six land ports since 2023. The project cost over $15 million with annual maintenance projected at around $700,000.

This is part of the CBSA’s modernization initiative, aimed at:

• Securing Canada’s borders 🛡️

• Handling more travelers efficiently without hiring extra staff or building more infrastructure 👮‍♂️🏢

In short, if you’re traveling to Canada, you might be screened by AI at certain land borders. But don’t worry—the system is designed to make your journey smoother, not more stressful! ✅

If you want to start your journey to Canada, book a consultation now!

Travellers to Canada Now Face AI Screening 🤖✈️