Crossing the Canadian Border

Prior to 1895, the border between the United States and Canada was merely a line on a map. Many Canadian citizens and recent immigrants to Canada migrated to the United States without being inspected by government authorities. As immigration increased in American port cities in the 1870s and 1880s, the system of inspection and regulation became more strictly administered, but the Canadian border remained wide-open. In the 1890s, passenger ship companies began to advertise that it was easier to get to the United States by first going to Canada. In 1895 the U.S. Government began inspections of entry points along the Canadian border and enlisted the aid of the Canadian railroads to allow documentation of the immigration that was occurring through Canada. Passengers on Canadian railroads had to have a "certificate of admission" to the United States to be allowed onto a train bound for a U.S. destination. This method for European immigrants entering the United States waned in popularity after these inspection points were put into place.