How long do I need for Customs in Canada?

May 21, 2024 6:38 AM

I'm planning a trip to Quebec City and found that there are no direct flights from Boston. There are many options with layovers in Montreal or Toronto, but some of them have a very short (less than 1 hour) layover, and I'm wondering if that's enough time to go through Customs and get to the gate for the next flight. Any advice?
posted by wisekaren to Travel & Transportation around Canada (12 answers total)

Toronto has two airports. Pearson International is vast, and security can be a long slog; it can easily be 10 minutes just to walk from security to your gate if you aren't hustling. Billy Bishop, on the other hand, is pretty cozy as airports go.

A one-hour layover is very tight if you're flying through Pearson; I wouldn't risk that. But if you're flying through Billy Bishop on Porter an hour is stress-free and more than enough.

Porter is great, by the way. Clean, low-fuss, I've flown them a bunch and never had a bad experience.
posted by mhoye at 6:47 AM on May 21 [3 favorites]

I would never do a <1hr layover in Toronto Pearson with customs in either direction (you would do US customs there on a return leg also), maybe not even for domestic (I had a 20+ min domestic walk there in January, though this may have been the max possible). I think I’ve even had booking systems refuse to show this connection timing there even despite the flights existing. Much less personal experience with Montreal.
posted by advil at 7:07 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]

I have passed through customs in Toronto. The two times I have done so, it was surprisingly fast; almost no waiting at either customs or security, and many agents available. They have a separate security checkpoint for people who are arriving from another connection, so you are not competing with the masses of people arriving from outside the airport. I was able to successfully make a tight 45-minute connection one of those times. That said, I could easily imagine it taking longer if customs happens to be very busy when you arrive. And as mhoye noted, at Pearson, there is a lot of walking involved even in a best-case scenario.

Montreal is a smaller airport, and customs is usually fast there (under 15min), but I have never caught a connecting flight there after passing through customs, so I'm not sure what that whole experience is like.

It also depends a lot on when you're traveling — the airports will be a lot busier around big holiday weekends and everything will take longer.

In short, 1 hour is probably doable if you're willing to hustle, but a bit tight. I would probably only book it if I knew there were other flights later the same day I could catch if I missed the first flight. And had no checked baggage.
posted by mekily at 7:10 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]

In my experience as a US passport holder arriving from the US (but not connecting), I've had to wait about 30 minutes to get through passport control at Pearson, whereas the lines at Montréal–Trudeau have been more like 10-15 minutes. Once you clear passport control at either of those airports, customs is a snap as long as you're not declaring anything.

The other thing you need to think about is the return trip — I've heard horror stories from people attempting to connect through Pearson on their way back to the US and missing their connecting flights due to long delays clearing US immigration there.
posted by theory at 7:15 AM on May 21

My recent (three weeks ago) experience at Trudeau in Montreal was that US customs was very slow. I was on line for about 45 minutes or a little over, long enough that I was actually starting to stress that I was cutting it close with boarding my flight. This was on a Sunday afternoon, which may have had something to do with it. I should mention that I was supposedly on the faster line, having pre-completed some of the paperwork online.
posted by holborne at 7:15 AM on May 21

My recent (three weeks ago) experience at Trudeau in Montreal was that US customs was very slow.

Good point — US pre-clearance at Montreal-Trudeau is infuriatingly slow.

You don't need to worry about that on the way there, since you'll only be passing through Canadian immigration, which is generally much faster. But on the way back, in either Montreal or Toronto, you'll need to pass through US pre-clearance before boarding your flight back to Boston. I have not done this in Toronto but in Montreal it's a 10-15 wait under normal circumstances, and up to 45 minutes on a peak holiday travel day. And unfortunately I believe there's no separate queue for connecting flights.
posted by mekily at 7:52 AM on May 21

Response by poster: Thanks, all, this is very helpful. I just saw another possibility that would eliminate the issue: Fly from Boston to Philly, and then direct from Philly to Quebec City. We are also considering driving, possibly with an overnight in Vermont/NH. Much to think about...
posted by wisekaren at 8:35 AM on May 21 [1 favorite]

Boston to Quebec city is a 6h drive. Any sequence of flights is going to be at least that long, all in - including getting to and from each airport, security, dead time, customs, changing, and potential ATC delays (hello, PHL/NYC). Unless you have some compelling reason to fly, I would recommend driving. It's extremely beautiful as well.
posted by scolbath at 8:41 AM on May 21 [6 favorites]

Agreed that driving to Quebec City is completely doable and fairly nice, I would personally choose this over flying any day. (You might even consider driving further up the St Lawrence towards the Charlevoix region if you have extra time.) I would also probably choose BOS -> PHL -> YQB over the routes you were describing in the post, I doubt it's much longer if it even is.
posted by advil at 9:38 AM on May 21

I would drive! It's pretty. My last experience at Pearson (coming from the US) was an overnight stay not because of customs but because Air Canada cancelled our flight at the last minute. If there's an Air Canada alternative I'm taking it, would rather spend 6-8 hours driving than in the airport.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:01 AM on May 21

Air Canada publishes minimum connection times for their flights at all major Canadian airports. So does Porter Airlines. The relevant ones for you are:

• Toronto-Pearson (AC): 70 minutes US-to-Canada, 70 minutes Canada-to-US
• Toronto-Bishop (Porter): 55 minutes US-to-Canada, 40 minutes Canada-to-US
• Montreal-Trudeau (AC): 60 minutes US-to-Canada, 55 minutes Canada-to-US

In general, if an airline sells you a ticket, they expect that most able-bodied people will be able to make the connection if they hustle and there are no unusually long delays at customs, etc. If you miss the connection due to customs & immigration delays, you can expect them to rebook you on a later flight, just as if the incoming flight had been delayed in landing. However, that could lead to you cooling your heels for a while, particularly if you're flying in the evening and the flight you miss is the last one of the day.

(As an aside, some third-party resellers will try to sell you connecting itineraries that don't meet these minimum connection times. Don't buy these; if you miss the connecting flight, you're SOL as a general rule.)

From personal experience in Pearson & Trudeau in recent years, I would allow for more like 90 minutes in Pearson or 75 in Trudeau; that amount of time gives you a bit more wiggle room.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:18 PM on May 21

Response by poster: That settles it - we're driving! Many thanks for helping me think it through.
posted by wisekaren at 9:38 AM on May 22 [2 favorites]