Can we bring meat, bacon , etc .. In freezer

Just returned from Canada (Ontario) - wasn't asked about meat or poultry when entering Canada, but was asked when returning to the states.

The exchange rate is pretty favorable to Americans right now - buy groceries in Canada.

Meat? Pretty much "no"
Vegetables fruits & dairy? Yes, but you are restricted to not traveling to or near a farm for like 14 days... Which if you are RVing may be just putting yourself under more scrutiny than needed.
Canned goods are usually okay.

Really I just suggest not bothering buying groceries before boarder crossing. You will find that Canada has pretty much everything that you need anyway. We do have walmart and costco.
Your dollars go much farther here too.

Just be sure to hit the pumps before crossing because gas is not cheep

If you just shop close to the border it's really not so expensive, especially with the canadian dollar worth 69 cents. It is enlightening to see what items cost where there is not government subsidy. Makes you realize that you are paying that price either through the grocery store or with your taxes...

With all the questions about what can be crossed either way, I met with border agents from both sides last Thursday.

Currently poultry and derived products can be crossed into Canada unless they are from 14 states currently on the restriction list. You need to clearly prove where the products originated. The list of restricted sources changes without any pre-notice.

Into the U.S. the restriction as of last week was limited to poultry products from Ontario. Again you need to provide proof of source.

The recommendation from agents on both sides of the border was to call ahead to the point of crossing. Restrictions are constantly changing and the websites may not be up to date.

On a personal level, we shop groceries in the US weekly but have not brought any meat either way for several months now due to all the uncertainty.

At the current exchange rate you would likely be better off purchasing here.

My experience has been that getting food into Canada is easy. We grocery shop in the US regularly and have never had an issue bringing it back. The only thing right now is Poultry. What you probably want to worry about is bringing food back to the US. Their rules are much more restrictive and hard to figure out. Basically as a rule of thumb we do not bring any perishables into the US.

All except for poultry. Eggs, chicken and even frozen chicken. Just google "canadian restrictions at border" and then pick and choose from the different answers. Simple.

Ron

bakedalaskan1 wrote:
Best to check Canadian customs website.

Yeah.

Best to check Canadian customs website. Eggs and chicken were not allowed in the spring. There is no savings in food you throw away at the border.