International travellers pouring into Atlantic Canada by the millions

December 7, 2023

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HALIFAX, N.S. — If this year has seemed tourist-heavy in Atlantic Canada, that’s because it was.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released their 2023 report on Atlantic Canada covering Jan. 1-Oct. 31, 2023. With numbers on visitors, contraband and cargo, it makes for interesting reading.

For one, Atlantic Canada welcomed nearly 2.9 million travellers, compared to approximately 1.8 million the year before. These are visitors who are entering the country coming through ports, commercial vessel sites, airports, cruise ship operations and ferry terminals throughout the region.

And since January, 945 Afghans and over 5,000 Ukrainians fleeing their countries have arrived in Atlantic Canada.

A young boy sporting his new Canada ball cap and Nova Scotian tartan waits in a queue for processing with his parents at Halifax Stanfield Airport on June 2, 2022, some of the more than 300 Ukrainian refugees that arrived in the province. – Tim Krochak

The growth in the population of Nova Scotia and Halifax is expected to continue. Last year, Halifax was the second fastest growing city in the country with 20,713 more people in 2021-22 when the numbers were released in January. When Statistics Canada updates the numbers next month, that number is expected to be close to 30,000.

Cruise ship season

The 2023 cruise ship season saw a 17 per cent increase in the number of arrivals throughout the Atlantic Region since last year. A total of 182 cruise ships with more than 500,000 crew and passengers were processed.

The Port of Halifax reported that there were 178 vessel calls in the 2023 season with 301,000 passengers and 133,000 crew from 28 cruise lines visiting the city.

Contraband

There was an assortment of contraband seized by border officers this past year — 71 firearms, 95 weapons and more than 95 kg of opioids.

In Halifax, an investigation that started in July 2020 led to a conviction in April and a fine of $6,000. Investigators searched a home-based business three years ago and seized a parcel containing 34 over-capacity magazines, another 40 over-capacity magazines, related documentation, and electronic devices were seized with warrants.

Officers at the Halifax port made two large seizures of cannabis that were headed out of the country. While examining a shipping container destined for the Caribbean in August, officers seized 165 kg of cannabis, and then in October, they found 377 kg of cannabis and 1 kg of hashish hidden in another container bound for the Caribbean.

Diverted flights

There were 86 flights diverted to the region in the past year, the CBSA reported. These are flights that were not expected to land here but needed to divert here because of emergencies like medical or mechanical situations.