Peace Bridge converts Nexus eGate booth to new staffed lane

A dedicated Nexus eGate booth at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie has been converted to a standard staffed crossing as of March 24, but the bridge authority’s chief executive says the booth had already been out of service for months before the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the change.

CBSA informed the bridge authority in summer 2025 that the eGate hardware and some software had reached the end of its useful life and several months ago the eGate was taken offline, with Nexus members directed to the other Nexus lanes.

Thomas Boyle, chief executive officer of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, told Fort Erie Radio the decision came down to aging equipment and money, not security concerns.

“The rationale they had given us was that the equipment had been in service and was at end of service life, and whatever issues they needed to upgrade it didn’t make financial sense,” said Boyle.

The eGate was not a conventional border booth. A CBSA officer operated the lane remotely from inside the bridge building rather than sitting in the booth itself, which allowed the agency to redeploy staff to other lanes as needed.

The Peace Bridge was the last port of entry in Canada still running an operational eGate before the program ended. Boyle said the bridge authority had supported the system precisely because of that staffing flexibility.

“We were proponents for the use of eGate,” said Boyle. “It allowed for better use of CBSA resources, which from our perspective meant that additional lanes could be manned because you don’t have one specific person sitting in that booth.”

Boyle noted that the timing softened any practical impact, as March falls outside the crossing’s peak travel season.

CBSA has indicated it is developing a different border-management initiative, though it has not shared details with the bridge authority. Boyle said he does not expect anything to materialize until 2027.

For Nexus cardholders crossing at the Peace Bridge now, Boyle offered a straightforward summary: “It’s business as usual, and you’re not seeing any major backups.”

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