Kelowna 
The federal government is looking to streamline how international travellers move through Canadian airports, and it’s asking the public for input before making any changes.
Credit: Pearson Airport
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has opened a month-long consultation on a proposal that would reshape the way passengers transit through Canada on their way to another country.
Under the plan, travellers passing through a Canadian airport en route to an international destination would no longer need to check in with border officers.
Instead, air carriers would be responsible for providing the CBSA with additional details, including each passenger’s final foreign destination and the date and time of their arrival in Canada. The agency says this information would help confirm that travellers leave the country on their scheduled connecting flight.
The proposal is known as “Free Flow International-to-International Transit,” a process the government says would maintain existing security standards while making airport transits less cumbersome. It’s also part of Ottawa’s broader Red Tape Review, aimed at cutting administrative hurdles while keeping border controls intact.
The system is not entirely new. It has been running as a pilot program at Montréal–Trudeau, Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Pearson’s Terminal 1. According to CBSA figures, the pilot processed more than 737,000 travellers in 2023 and over 744,000 in 2024.
Travellers using this transit pathway would still need to carry the correct visas or immigration documents required by their destination country, and the CBSA says the change would allow frontline staff to focus on higher-risk activities rather than routinely screening connecting passengers.
The proposed regulatory amendments have been posted in the Canada Gazette, where the government will collect feedback until December 29, 2025.
