Canada 150 at the CBSA: Our Ports of Entry

2017-04-25
The rich history of border services in Canada, brought to life with vivid photos of our ports of entry throughout the decades.

Transcript

Canada 150 logo appears in middle of the screen.

A man dressed in overalls, holding a metal cylinder in his right hand, stands in front of a tent in Prince Rupert, B.C., in 1910. The tent is pitched on a wooden base and has a wooden door. A sign above the door reads Customs Canada. The words are separated by the image of a crown. Canada 150 logo appears on the left-hand side throughout the video. On-screen text reads OUR PORTS OF ENTRY Border Services, A part of Canada’s Rich History.  Photo credit reads: Charles Melville Hays / Library and Archives Canada / PA-021918.

A Victorian style bungalow framed by a white picket fence, circa early 1900’s.  Above the entrance, and framed by a steeply-pitched gabled roof, a sign reads Canal Tolls Customs. A man is standing behind a window on the left; another is sitting on the window sill on the right.  Trees encircle the house, and a gas street lamp is on the front left side. On-screen text reads NOS POINTS D’ENTRÉE Les services frontaliers, un volet de la riche histoire du Canada.

A street in Rock Island, Quebec, circa 1930’s, with cars parked on the left and a horse buggy hitched on the right. A bilingual banner is tethered above the street, and reads Canadian Customs, Stop and Report; Douanes Canadiennes, arretez pour faire rapport. A Union Jack and a sign jut out from the balcony of a two-storey building on the right. The sign reads “Canadian Customs, Stop and Report”. On-screen text reads OUR PORTS OF ENTRY Border Services, A part of Canada’s Rich History.  

A parked car, circa 1940’s, with two men standing between its passenger side and a building.  About a meter away, parallel to the driver’s side is a large sign mounted on the street. The top circular portion of the sign reads Customs Canada, Douanes; the slender, rectangular bottom portion reads Stop and Report; Arretez, Passez au Bureau. On-screen text reads NOS POINTS D’ENTRÉE Les services frontaliers, un volet de la riche histoire du Canada.

The International Line that separates Eastport, Idaho and Kingsgate, B.C., can be seen on a mountain range that looms over a building. The sign on the building reads Canada Customs Stop and Report. Cars, circa 1950s, are parked in front. A smaller structure and a Union Jack hoisted on a flag pole are off to the right.  The car parked furthest to the back has men standing on either side. On-screen text reads OUR PORTS OF ENTRY Border Services, A part of Canada’s Rich History.  

A transit bus, circa 1960’s, going through the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel. The sign on the bus reads Tunnel Bus. There are two signs posted on the wall to the right of the bus driver. The first reads Dominion of Canada, and underneath it is a criss-crossed mirror image of two Canadian flags. The second reads United States of America and has a criss-crossed mirror image of two American flags. On-screen text reads NOS POINTS D’ENTRÉE Les services frontaliers, un volet de la riche histoire du Canada.

Exterior of a port of entry in Athelstan, Quebec, built in the 1930’s in Tudor style, and updated for modern-day use. Traffic pylons and moveable street signage are positioned to direct vehicles to a window. An accessibility ramp can be seen in the back. On-screen text reads OUR PORTS OF ENTRY Border Services, A part of Canada’s Rich History.  

An overhead view of a modern, multi-lane border crossing.  The four lanes in view are separated by an enclosed booth, each with a four-sided window. A Canadian flag on top of each window faces oncoming vehicles. Beyond the booths is a wide vista of the highway, encircled by a small grassy hill.  A connecting roof shelters the booths. A sign affixed to the roof, facing the traffic, reads Coutts Albert. A billboard mounted above the roof reads “Nexus”.  On-screen text reads NOS POINTS D’ENTRÉE Les services frontaliers, un volet de la riche histoire du Canada.

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