Central Canada

Product copy

Central Canada

A vacationer’s view of Ontario and Québec by Al Purdy and Hugh Hood

The sign at the border says Welcome.

For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, crossing the border into Canada isn’t much more complicated than crossing the street to visit a neighbor.

You don’t need a passport. Or a visa. But you should bring something to establish who you are. If you’re a native-born U.S. citizen, for example, bring your birth, baptismal or voter’s certificate. If you’re a naturalized citizen, bring your naturalization certificate. And if you’re an alien resident, bring your Alien Registration Receipt Card (U.S. Form 1-151). You probably won’t need them. But it’s possible that someone may ask for proof of your status- either when you enter Canada or when you re-enter the United States.

Anything to declare?

Some people get very up-tight at the idea of customs inspections. But there’s no need to be. Generally speaking, you can bring almost anything you intend to use or consume yourself into Canada. But you can’t bring things to sell.

You can bring 50 cigars, 200 cigarettes, 2 lbs. of tobacco, and 40 ozs. of alcoholic beverages (or 24 pints of beer, but not both) without paying duty.

You can bring fishing tackle, boats, outboard motors, camping equipment, sports equipment, radios, portable TV sets, musical instruments, typewriters, electrical appliances and cameras, together with a reasonable quantity of film. But if you do check in with things like that, you’ll be expected to have them with you when you check out again.

You’ll save yourself some time if you bring with you a written list of all such articles, together with descriptions and serial numbers where possible.

Same goes for guns. You can bring rifles and shotguns (together with 200 rounds of ammunition) into. Canada, but you must provide the Customs Officer with written descriptions and serial numbers. Incidentally- pistols, revolvers and fully automatic weapons are strictly forbidden.

Coming by car?

Bring your Motor Vehicle Registration form. If you’re driving a rented car, bring a copy of the rental agreement.

Ask your insurance company for a Canadian Non-Resident Inter-Province Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance card. It’s a little yellow card which indicates that you have the minimum insurance coverage necessary for driving in this country. (If you are involved in an accident and you don’t have it with you, you may be delayed until it arrives.)

Bringing pets?

Your dog will need a certificate stating that he’s been vaccinated against rabies within the past 12 months. Make sure the certificate carries an accurate description of your dog, is properly dated and signed by a licensed veterinarian.

There are no restrictions at all on the admission of cats.

Our Money versus Your money.

Aside from the design on the bills and coins, there’s very little difference between your money and ours.

The rate of exchange fluctuates a little from day to day. So if you want to be sure of getting your money’s worth, we suggest you change your dollars for our dollars at a bank rather than a store.

Summer starts in May.

July and August are normally the two warmest months of the Canadian summer. You can expect temperatures in the mid-70’s over most of the country – although the further north you travel, the cooler it’s likely to be. But even as early as May and as late as September, there’s plenty of warm sunshine. Daytime temperatures rarely drop much below 60.

Any questions?

If there’s anything you’d like to know about the particular Provinces you plan to visit – about the weather, about hunting and fishing licenses, places to stay or anything else – please write to the appropriate Provincial Bureaux at the addresses below. They’ll be happy to hear from you.

Department of Tourism, Fish and Game,
Tourism Branch,
930 St. Foy Road,
Québec, Québec, Canada.

Department of Tourism & Information,
185 Bloor Street East,
Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada.

Canadian Government Travel Bureau,
Ottawa, Canada
Published by authority of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce.