CBSA Apologizes for Border Delays Following Systems Outage

Natasha Lair
by Natasha Lair
Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Tue October 7, 2025

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says its systems are fully operational again after a series of IT outages caused delays for travellers and commercial traffic at border crossings and airports late last month.

The disruptions began on Sunday, September 28, following what the agency described as “unforeseen technical problems during routine systems maintenance.”

CBSA confirmed the issues were not the result of a cyberattack.

RELATED: CBSA Kiosk Outages Resolved

“While the initial outages were resolved within 48 hours, the impacts on kiosks at airports and on commercial processing at some ports of entry continued as the CBSA worked to address the backlogs that were created,” the agency said in a statement.

During the outages, border officers manually processed travellers and shipments to keep traffic moving.

“The Agency worked with airport authorities and bridge and tunnel operators to manage delays and complete screening and verifications,” the CBSA said, adding that all lanes were fully staffed to maintain safety and security.

The CBSA confirmed that regular operations have resumed, with traveller and commercial volumes now back to normal. A full report on the incident will be submitted to the Minister of Public Safety within 30 days.

The agency said it continues to work with Shared Services Canada (SSC)—which provides secure IT infrastructure for federal departments—to prevent future system disruptions.

“We are working closely with SSC to reduce the risk of future outages, to minimize any system downtime, and also to strengthen our contingency plans based on the experience gained from these recent outages,” the CBSA said.

“We would like to thank all travellers, truckers, partners and stakeholders for their cooperation and patience during these outages and we apologize for the inconveniences they have caused.”

Travellers can check current estimated wait times at 28 of the country’s busiest land border crossings on the CBSA website.

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