FLIRTING WITH CANADA

Getting friendly in British Columbia

Travel Alert 2026:

This Canada-flirting opportunity DOES NOT bring you into contact with US or Canadian customs

In case you don’t know, the problem with Canada is that they don’t allow in anyone with a past felony, passport or not.  That includes PFR’s, of course.  A few years ago I visited the International Peace Garden, which is open to Americans but part of it is in Manitoba.  I blogged about that.  Since then I’ve returned to the U.S.-Canadian border looking for other places along the US-Canada border where Americans are permitted inside a hermetically sealed little chunk of Canada.

Given the current repressive climate against PFR’s that has come to be known as the Epstein Shadow, combined with the violent climate against immigrants and others deemed suspicious at our borders, I now warn any current or formerly registered person against putting yourself in any situation where you might come into contact with U.S. Customs unless you have a valid passport in hand.

The good news about the International Peace Arch is that it’s still open to anyone, there are no check points and you need not come into contact with either US or Canadian Customs or Border Patrol.  The bad news is that, at least on the US side, the area is definitely under surveillance.  I have no doubt they ran my license plate and knew all about me by the time I returned to my car.  No one approached me or stopped me in any way, but if the whole idea gives you the creeps, maybe it’s not for you.

One thing I want to make clear is that this is just a game.  Nobody is trying to sneak across the border.  I don’t even want to do that and it would violate the rules of the game – which are that it has to be a bona fide place where any American is allowed to be without a passport.  So let’s play the game:

From the 50 State Visitor Guide : Washington State

Rev. Code Wash. 2021 §4.24.550, §§9A.44.128 through 9A.44.145.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Initial registration for permanent residents, students, and in-state workers is 3 business days from arrival; updates within 3 business days. §9A.44.130(4).

Visitors who intend to reside or be present in the state for 10 days or more must register with county sheriff within 3 business days of arrival. §9A.44.130(4)(a)(iv).

Transient registrants must re-register weekly, and report any movement to a new county for 24 hours or more within 3 business days. §9A.44.130(4).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: Certain L2 and L3 offenders on supervision may not reside within 880 ft. of a school.  §9.94A.030(6)

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life.  Updates:  L2&3 – 90 days; L1 – Annually. §9A.44.140.

International Peace Arch – Blaine, WA

Flirt Rating – AA

International Peace Arch Park in Blaine, WA is the most open, most accessible international space I have yet visited along the US-Canadian border.  Between the two Customs buildings there is a very wide space between the northbound and southbound lanes where the Arch is located, with additional park space on the east side only – see map.  Each country also has its own provincial/state park from which its citizens access the international area.

Peace Arch State Park is only a few blocks from the last I-5 exit in Washington State, and well marked from the Interstate to the parking lot.  I arrived mid-morning on a Wednesday, and there were a few other visitors coming and going.  Here’s what the little park looks like as seen from the clubhouse & rest room building:

At left, you can see a row of houses in Canada across the street from the US park.  There is no fence.  Instead, at right, the white SUV in the parking lot is a US Border Control vehicle watching the border. (I'm the red car not far away).  I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t sit down at one of those picnic tables.

From the rest rooms, there is a concrete walkway into the International Area. This photo shows most of the park.  The Peace Arch is on the international boundary.

 

Photos of Canada taken in Canada

I took this photo of the Canadian Customs Building and later noticed that at the far left you can see Canadian citizens entering the International Area from their provincial park.

 

While visiting the Peace Arch I spoke with both Canadians and Americans who spoke wistfully about how in the old days nobody minded if groups walked the few blocks into downtown Blaine to have lunch together.  That was before the dark times ... before The Empire.  Not now of course.  Maybe we’ll get back to that spirit sometime in the future … but meanwhile, I passed a group of Americans carrying several pizzas into the International Area on their way to meet their Canadian friends.

 

Notice the now ironic mottos on the Peace Arch.  They seem almost quaint, don’t they?

Blaine, WA

As I said, downtown Blaine, WA is only a few blocks from the International Peace Arch.  It’s quaint and still retains its international feeling.  You should either have lunch there, or you should pick up your pizza there to go meet your Canadian friends at the Arch!