A major IT outage at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has left tens of thousands of Canada-bound truckers stranded across the United States this week, causing widespread delays and mounting frustration within the transportation industry. While the CBSA says the technical issue has been resolved, severe backlogs at multiple border crossings remain, particularly in Ontario.
Truckers began experiencing delays following an outage that occurred early Sunday morning during routine maintenance of CBSA systems. Although the issue was resolved by Tuesday, the backlog of commercial entries has continued to grow, with truckers facing extended waits at several major crossings. The most severe delays are being reported at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in Niagara Falls, and the Windsor crossing, where some drivers have been stuck for more than 24 hours. Western border crossings are also experiencing four- to five-hour delays, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA).
Kiratsimran Deol, a Canadian truck driver, has been stranded for nearly 24 hours at a gas station along the I-90 in Ripley, New York, after his scheduled border crossing at 1 a.m. Thursday was disrupted. “It’s hard sometimes waiting here. It’s a guessing game when it’s going to be cleared,” he said, noting that other drivers in the queue have been waiting for up to two days, some without food or access to basic necessities. Dozens of truckers have opted to wait at gas stations along the interstate to access amenities, after hearing reports of drivers stuck at the border with no supplies.
Approximately 70,000 trucks cross the Canada–U.S. border each day, and the CTA says the delays are affecting truckers nationwide. “We’re seeing trucks stuck for over 24 hours,” said Stephen Laskowski, President and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance. “In some cases, truck drivers are being fed by bridge authorities because they’ve been sitting and waiting on the U.S. side for so long.”
Port authorities at the Peace Bridge and Lewiston-Queenston crossings have advised commercial drivers to avoid both areas, as queues have reached or exceeded capacity. Traffic cameras on the Canadian inspection lanes showed trucks crawling through long lines Thursday evening.
Laskowski expressed frustration that such a major disruption occurred despite federal pledges to invest in border infrastructure. “It is puzzling. Incredibly puzzling, troubling, frustrating to not understand why that investment hasn’t gone on to the IT systems,” he said. The alliance also raised concerns over the lack of timely communication from federal authorities. “Local ports have been working with the industry throughout this crisis, giving the best information out to us,” Laskowski added. “Unfortunately, with regards to Ottawa, we have yet to get a clear message as to what is going on, when this will be addressed, and how this issue will never happen again.”
In a statement to Global News, CBSA spokesperson Guillaume Bérubé said that “a data entry problem during the maintenance caused the outage and is being investigated.” He added that “commercial drivers may continue to experience delays as we resume normal processing and continue to clear a backlog of requests that were received during the outage.”
The trucking industry warns that the economic impact of this disruption will extend beyond drivers, affecting the broader Canadian supply chain that depends on timely delivery of goods. Until the backlog is fully cleared, thousands of truckers remain stranded south of the border, waiting to return home. “It’s frustrating sometimes,” Deol said.