A group called Friends Across Borders is holding events across North America this weekend, including a B.C. border crossing.
The event takes place on Saturday, Aug. 16, and the one relevant to B.C. residents is a “day of international friendship” taking place at the Peace Arch border crossing.
There’s also a separate event taking place in Vancouver at Jack Poole Plaza. The events are completely volunteer-organized and come at a time when travel from British Columbia to the United States has plummeted.
A simple premise fuels the events, which is that despite the tensions between the two nations, there is still a lot of love between residents regardless of the borders.
Peace Arch event
The event at the Peach Arch border crossing takes place between 9 a.m. and noon.
According to the event description, you don’t need to cross the border to attend.
“Both Canadians and Americans can attend this event without needing to cross the border. Attendees can park on their side of the border, and we can hang out together at Peace Park and intermingle. Just make sure to follow the directions below to the corresponding parking lot for your country.”
If you are interested in attending and are travelling by car, but don’t have a Discovery Pass, you will have to pay for parking.
The event page states, “We want to show this administration that they may break our formal ties, but we will continue to cherish our personal relationships across borders. We will all be meeting at the Peace Arch!”
Olympic Torch event
Taking place in Vancouver at Jack Poole Plaza at 1055 Canada Pl., this event is advertised as a peaceful, positive, and creative demonstration for Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans.
“We affirm the values of peace, friendship, decency, and respect with our North American neighbours. What better place to do this than the Olympic Torch, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics?”
The Vancouver event starts at 11 a.m. and ends at noon.
This isn’t the first time events like this have taken place at the B.C. border crossing. Last month, a similar event occurred, with Americans standing up for Canada at a rally at the Peace Arch.
U.S. travel dwindles
According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, in July of this year, the number of Canadian resident return trips by car from the U.S. was 1.7 million.
Statistics Canada calls that a steep decline compared to 2024, as it marked a whopping 36.9 per cent drop.
July 2025 also marked the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
“The highest number of returning Canadian-resident arrivals was observed on Sunday, July 27 (100,000). This number was 13.8 per cent higher than the average for the other Sundays in July,” Statistics Canada adds.