Canada and the United States of America are the second and fourth-largest countries (area) and they share the longest international border between two countries in the world- officially known as the International Boundary. The International Boundary is 5,525 miles (8,891km) long.
13 states of the US share border with Canada, Alaska having the longest border -1,538miles (2,475km). Pennsylvania with 42 miles (68km) shares the shortest length of the border. Ontario province in east-central Canada shares the longest part of the border with 1.715 miles (2,760km), whereas the western province of Alberta shares the shortest portion of the International Boundary- 185 miles (298km).
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are the agencies responsible for facilitating legal passage through the International Boundary.
Security Measures
Residents of both Canada and USA- who own property near the border- are forbidden to construction within the 6 meters wide (20 feet) boundary prospect without permission from the International Boundary Commission. Any such construction must be reported to the respective governments.
Anyone crossing the border must report to the customs agency of the country they are entering. Fences and vehicle blockades are used at the border wherever required. In remote areas, where staff recruitment at the border is not possible, sensors are used. These hidden sensors are on roads, trails, railways, and wooded areas, which are near the crossing points so that any illegal border-crossing can be caught. The US Customs and Border Protection set up checkpoints into the US territory.
Before 2007, the citizens of both nations were only required to produce a birth certificate and driver’s license/government-issued identification card when crossing the Canada-United States Border.
2007 onwards, new rules were announced giving new identification requirements for U.S. citizens and international travelers entering the states. These are:
1. Valid passport
2. United States Passport Card
3. a state enhanced driver’s license- available in the States of Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington, and provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
4. A trusted traveller program card- NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI
5. Valid Merchant Mariner Credential- required when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business
6. Valid U.S. Military Identification Card- to be used when traveling on official orders
To cross the Canadian border, a traveler must also have identification and a valid visa (if necessary). Forms of identification include- a valid passport, a Canadian Emergency Travel Document, and enhanced driver’s license issued by Canadian province/territory, or an enhanced identification/photo card issued by Canadian province/territory.
Security issues
Smuggling
In the 1920s, there was extensive smuggling of alcoholic beverages across the border, when prohibition was in effect in the U.S. and parts of Canada.
In more recent years, Canadian officials have accentuated their attention to drug, cigarette, and firearms smuggling, while U.S. officials have reported drug smuggling via Canada. In July 2005, three men were arrested who had built a 110m tunnel under the border between British Columbia and Washington, for the smuggling of marijuana, the first such tunnel known on this border.
Cornwall, Ontario experiences continuous smuggling of tobacco and firearms from the US. The Mohawk territory of Akwesasne spans the Ontario-Quebec-New York borders, where its First-Nations sovereignty prevents Ontario Provincial Police, Surete du Quebec, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, CBSA, Canadian Coast Guard, United States Border Patrol, United States Coast Guard, and New York State Police from exercising jurisdiction over exchanges occurring within the territory.
2017 Border Crossing Crisis
In August 2017, there was an influx of up to 500 irregular crossings per day at the border between Quebec and New York. These were the people seeking refuge in Canada. Due to this, Canada increased border security and immigration staffing in the area, reiterating the fact that irregular border crossing does not affect one’s asylum.
From January 2017 to the end of March 2018, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police caught 25,645 people entering Canada from an unauthorized point of entry.
Current disputes
1. Known as the “Grey Zone” (about 717 km2 in size), it includes Machias Seal Island and North Rock (Maine and New Brunswick), this stretch is under dispute since the late 1700s. There is a Canadian Lighthouse in this area, which is claimed by the U.S. Canadian Coast Guards patrol the area. The dispute has two elements- the sovereignty of the island and the location of the maritime boundary considering who is the rightful owner of the island.
2. Strait of Juan de Fuca (Washington State and British Columbia)- in 1977 both the countries declared fishing zones at the mouth of the strait. Each nation used a different method to define an equidistant water boundary. The two separate disputed water areas are about 51.5km2 in size.
3. Yukon-Alaska Dispute- Canada supports an extension of the land boundary into the Beaufort Sea, between Alaska and Yukon, which the U.S. does not.
U.S. supports a line equidistant from the coastline which means that a small portion of Northwest Territories Exclusive Economic Zone, Canada is also claimed by the U.S. because the EEZ boundary between Northwest territories and Yukon follows a straight north-south line into the sea. The U.S. claims will create a triangular-shaped EEZ for Yukon, Canada. The disputed area is about 21,440km2 in size.
4. Northwest Passage- Canada claims this passage as a part of its “internal waters”, whereas the US claims it as an “international strait”.
5. Dixon Entrance (Alaska and British Columbia) has two water areas that are claimed by both the nations. In 1903, the “A-B” line was defined, with the initial boundary point (point “A”) at the northern end of the Entrance, and point “B” 72NM to the east.
With the “A-B” line Canada considers the Dixon Entrance as its internal waters; however, the US does not recognize this line as an official boundary. In 1977 the US defined an equidistant territorial line throughout the Entrance, mainly to the south of the “A-B” line. The intersecting lines create four separate water areas. The two areas, south of the “A-B” line (2,789km2 and 51.5km2 in size) are claimed by both the countries and the other two (72km2 and 1.4km2 in size), north of the “A-B” line are unclaimed.
6. Nunez Rocks, a low-tide elevation (LTE) (“bare at half-tide”), lies south of the “A-B” line. It is surrounded by the sea territory claimed by the US. According to the Law of the Sea Treaty, LTEs may be used as base points for a territorial sea (as is done by the US). However, nothing is preventing the US from claiming areas beyond the scope of the Law of the Sea Treaty
For about half of each day, above-water territory, claimed by Canada, is surrounded by sea territory that the US has declared to be American.
