Federal border agents monitored more than 44 million trips by Canadians crossing the U.S. border last year as part of a surveillance program that has operated with little public scrutiny since cabinet approved it in 2019.Blacklock's Reporter says the Canada Border Services Agency disclosed the data in a recent evaluation of its Entry/Exit Program, which tracks Canadians’ movements by collecting exit information and matching it with entry records. The program shares data with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies including the Canada Revenue Agency, RCMP, Employment and Social Development Canada, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.“The program allowed the Agency to further close the loop on travelers’ movements in and out of the country,” auditors wrote. The data includes names, birth dates, and nationality, and is gathered through secure electronic channels for all drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. land border..It is the first federal program to record when Canadians leave the country. According to a 2019 regulatory analysis, the data is stored for up to 15 years.No cost figures have been released, and no parliamentary committee has examined the surveillance program. However, in-house research by the agency in 2021 found many Canadians were wary of the data collection. Just 20% of respondents said they had the “highest confidence” in the agency’s ability to balance border security with privacy rights. Only 26% said they were “very comfortable” with the agency collecting more personal data to speed up crossings, while 32% said they were uncomfortable with it.Public concern varied by region, with opposition highest in Québec at 36%, followed by British Columbia at 34%, Ontario at 32%, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 31%, Atlantic Canada at 29%, and Alberta at 26%.
