by Joe Friedrichs
BOUNDARY WATERS – The Remote Area Border Crossing Program (RABC) will be terminated in September 2026, though the option to legally enter Canada on the remote border lakes will continue in some fashion.
Canadian officials told P&P Dec. 19 that people with a valid permit who are allowed to cross into Canada with an RABC will be allowed to do so through mid-September 2026. After that time, people will still be allowed to enter Canada remotely at a “designated telephone reporting site,” according to officials from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The RABC Program as it currently operates will close Sept.14.
“As of (Sept. 14), all travelers entering Canada through remote areas of northern Ontario or from the Northwest Angle into southern Manitoba, must report to the CBSA at a port of entry or a designated telephone reporting site,” said Rebecca Purdy, a senior communications advisor.
Replacing the RABC Program with telephone reporting builds on processes already in place across Canada, Purdy said, where travelers are required to report to the CBSA from designated sites every time they enter Canada. This process ensures a consistent level of security and expectations of compliance for everyone, Purdy said. The location of the new telephone reporting sites will be decided in the coming months in consultation with Indigenous communities, local businesses and law enforcement partners, according to CBSA.
This process is a measure that will also more closely align with how travelers report to U.S. Customs and Border Protection when entering the U.S. in remote areas, according to CBSA officials.
To ensure a smooth transition, active RABC permits have been extended and will remain valid until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2026, CBSA officials said today.
Donny Sorlie is the owner of Chippewa Inn on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail. Sorlie said the continuation of RABCs into next September and the chances for continued access to the Canadian side of the border lakes via reported telephone entry is likely good news, but more information is needed from the Canadian government.
“It very well could be a good thing,” Sorlie said, “as long as they get it figured it out. Until then, we’re still feeling a bit left in the dark here.”
The biggest question for Sorlie and other business owners, as well as people who own property on the Canadian side of the border lakes, is what CBSA means with regard to “telephone reporting sites.” Where the telephone reporting sites will be located and if cellphones will work for people reporting in are the two biggest questions among the numerous people P&P spoke with Friday morning after the announcement from CBSA went public about the future of the RABC Program.
Meanwhile, Sorlie said business is already down for 2026 based on the uncertainty of the RABC program. Outfitters from the end of the Gunflint to the Ely area have shared similar sentiments with P&P in recent weeks.
Paddle and Portage asked officials from CBSA the following questions about the process of telephone reporting when entering Canada starting Sept. 14, 2026, when RABC permits are no longer active: –Will cell phones be valid for reporting in to enter Canada on the border lakes of Minnesota/ Ontario when the RABC Program is terminated?
–Will people only be allowed to phone in from designated sites? If yes, how many (approximately) of these sites will there be from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods?
Purdy from CBSA responded at 10:30 a.m. with the following: “All travellers entering Canada through remote areas of northern Ontario or from the Northwest Angle into southern Manitoba, must report to the CBSA at a port of entry or a designated telephone reporting site. You can use a cell phone.”
For many years, RABC permits have allowed U.S. citizens to cross into Canada on some border lakes, from Lake Superior over to Rainy Lake, without stopping at a customs checkpoint such as the Pigeon River entry point in Grand Portage.
In February, Canada extended most existing permits under the program. In a statement sent to Paddle and Portage in February, CBSA announced it “extended the validity of all permits issued after Sept. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2025, at no charge to members. No action is required on the part of the permit holder, the existing permit will be accepted as valid until Dec. 31, 2025.”
Anxiety increased as the deadline approached, though the extension was welcomed news for the many who rely on RABC permits for accessing personal property on the Canadian side of the border lakes, and for people who make frequent trips to Quetico Provincial Park.
As it stands now, any active RABC permits remain valid until Sept. 14, 2026.
In September 2024, the Canadian government “paused the processing of new and renewal applications” for the RABC program that allows travelers to cross into certain remote parts of the Boundary Waters region.
During the past year, property owners on the border lakes, and local businesses who operate on these waters were left in the dark when it came to knowing what would happen to RABC permits for 2026 and beyond. The frustrations stem from uncertainty about business finances and planning, to people concerned about being allowed to access property they own in Canada.
Visitors from Saganaga Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail to the Moose Lake area on the Ely side of the wilderness (among other access points) use RABC permits to access Quetico without having to cross the border at a port of entry.
P&P reached out to Quetico Park officials this summer to see if visitation is down this year at Cache Bay and other entrances to the park on its southern border. Park officials confirmed that visitation was down significantly, likely due to a lack of new RABC permits being issued. Outfitters from the end of the Gunflint Trail to the Ely area echoed the same sentiment, noting that motorized tows taking people to drop-off locations for access to Quetico were far fewer than usual over the paddling season that is now all but complete for the year.
The RABC system has been in place for decades and has been effective in facilitating border crossings for individuals who live in remote areas and are unable to check in at an official point of entry, according to U.S. officials.
