Starting June 8, the Cache Bay and Prairie Portage ranger stations are expected to implement a new telephone reporting system for paddlers entering Quetico Provincial Park in Canada. Visitors will be able to use the stations’ Wi-Fi to report their entry. They can complete the report using their own cell phone or an on-site phone. The new update should simplify the process for everyone.
For years, visitors paddling from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) into Quetico applied for and received a Remote Area Border Crossing Permit (RABC) from Canada. The permit lasted for one year.
Now, according to Paddle & Portage, paddlers entering Quetico through Prairie Portage or Cache Bay will use a new telephone reporting system at these ranger stations. Both entry points are situated along the Minnesota-Canadian border. We contacted the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to see what this will actually look like and what visitors can expect.
Officials said in an email that they plan to launch telephone reporting sites at these locations on June 8. The agency has collaborated with Parks Ontario to set up this service in order to simplify reporting an entry. Once these reporting sites are live, an announcement will be made on the agency’s social media and in the CBSA Directory of Services. Staff will also post new signs to help visitors at the stations.
How the 1-888-CANPASS system works
When visitors arrive at Prairie Portage or Cache Bay, they will find staff on site and Wi-Fi available. Paddlers can use their own cell phone or an on-site phone to report their arrival into Quetico by calling 1-888-CANPASS. An officer will answer the call and ask for accepted identification, including full name, date of birth, and citizenship. Paddlers must also declare any goods they are bringing into Canada. The officer will either approve entry to Quetico or determine whether additional evaluation is necessary. Officials told us that the calls will likely last no more than five minutes, depending on the group size.
Border crossing program paused in 2024
In the fall of 2024, Canadian authorities announced that they would suspend the RABC program while they reviewed and updated it. The original expiration date for existing, valid permits was December 31, 2025. The CBSA has since extended these permits until midnight on September 13, 2026. Current, valid RABC permit holders can bypass the telephone check-in at the Prairie Portage and Cache Bay ranger stations until their permits expire.
Canadian officials are still considering other telephone reporting sites and will announce them when they update the entire system later this year. They told us they continue to work with “local businesses and property owners, as well as Indigenous, municipal, provincial, and federal government entities, to identify and designate additional reporting sites.” Some site owners have shown interest in being included, and officials have begun the process to set this up. You can find more information about telephone reporting on the CBSA website.