Canadians and Americans tend to support the idea of charging entry fees to visitors to their respective countries, a new Vision Critical / Angus Reid poll has found.

The United States government is considering the introduction of a “passenger inspection” fee (PIF) of $5.50 U.S. for all commercial air and marine travellers who enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The fee would not apply to automobile traffic.

In the online survey of representative national samples, three-in-five Canadians (58%) say the implementation of America’s PIF would not alter their plans to travel to the United States. Albertans are the most likely to change their travel plans because of the new fee (34%)—not surprising as they are also among the most likely to travel to the U.S. by air or sea in the next 12 months (43%). Nearly half of respondents in BC (47%) plan to travel to the U.S. in the next year.

Three quarters of Canadians (73%) feel it is likely that the PIF will be expanded to include Canadian travellers entering the U.S. by car, not just by sea or air. Four-in-five British Columbians (79%) think this change is imminent.

A majority of Americans (64%) also think it is likely that the PIF will ultimately be expanded to include all Canadians entering the U.S. People in the United States are split on the PIF, with 41 per cent supporting the idea and 39 per cent disagreeing with it.

Two thirds of Canadians (64%) favour implementing a similar fee for all visiting Americans who enter Canada by air or by sea, if the PIF is implemented in the U.S. Only one-in-four Canadians (26%) oppose fee reciprocity.

Security Perimeter

When asked about the recent meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama to discuss the establishment of a North American security and trade perimeter, half of Canadian respondents (52%) say they support the idea, while 17 per cent oppose it. Three-in-five Americans (59%) support the perimeter while nearly a third (31%) are undecided. Support for the perimeter is highest among men (66% U.S. and 60% Canada) and those over 55 years of age (64% U.S. and 60% Canada).

Travel Plans

About two thirds of respondents in Canada (64%) and less than one third the United States (30%) travel to their neighbouring country by air or by sea—the modes of transport currently proposed to be subject to the PIF.

Nearly half of Canadians (48%) rarely travel to the U.S. by air or by sea, however one third (34%) plan to visit the U.S. by air or by sea (either for business or for a holiday) in the next 12 months. Seven-in-ten Americans (70%) never travel to Canada by air or by sea and one quarter (25%) report rarely visiting Canada in this manner. Nearly nine-in-ten American respondents (88%) do not plan to visit Canada via air or sea in the 12 months.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President, Public Affairs, Canada
+613 691 0948
jaideep.mukerji@visioncritical.com

Methodology: From February 17 to February 18, 2011 Vision Critical / Angus Reid conducted an online survey among 1,011 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists and 1,010 American adults who are Springboard America panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for Canada and the United States. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada and the US. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.