Long waits at B.C. borders as big events draw Canadians south

The border crossings in B.C. are extremely busy Friday as a number of events in Seattle are drawing Canadians south.

Taylor Swift headlines the action with two shows at Lumen Field, and the Blue Jays are in Seattle to play the Mariners for a three-game series.

Waits at the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings to get into the United States already exceed two hours, as of Friday afternoon.

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Rob Williams, a British Columbian heading to Seattle for the weekend, said it’s unfortunate, for him, that the Swift concert landed on the same weekend as the Blue Jays series.

He spoke with the Mike Smyth Show earlier Friday.

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“Thank goodness for Nexus — I am hoping it saves me at the border,” he said.

“The day you really have to watch out for is Saturday as it’s the first show for Taylor Swift and an afternoon game for the Blue Jays at 1 o’clock.

“There will be thousands of people heading down to watch the game and thousands going down for the concert.”

Williams said there will be 70,000 people at each Swift show and around 50,000 for the Blue Jays games.

Accommodation has been significantly inflated in the downtown Seattle area, as Williams said he checked for a hotel room a few days ago and the cheapest he could find was for more than C$1,400 at a two-star hotel.

The City of Seattle has provided a list of activities, need-to-know information, and what is happening around the city on its Twitter page.