Names and certain details in this story have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. The events described are based on publicly documented cases and interviews conducted with the family's permission. This article is intended to be educational and does not constitute legal or financial advice.

In September 2025, a 58-year-old man named David Chen walked into Toronto Pearson International Airport carrying a single black duffel bag. Inside, neatly wrapped in brown envelopes and tucked between layers of clothing, was $200,000 in Canadian cash. He was heading to Hong Kong to help his elderly mother purchase an apartment.

David never boarded the plane. Before he reached the security checkpoint, officers from the Canada Border Services Agency stopped him. Within an hour, every dollar was seized. He was detained, questioned for several hours, and eventually released without criminal charges — but without his money. It took him nearly five months and thousands of dollars in legal fees to get most of it back.

His mistake was not that he was carrying the money. It was that he had not declared it.

What Canadian Law Actually Says About Carrying Cash

Many Canadians are surprised to learn that there is no legal limit on how much cash you can carry into or out of the country. You could, in theory, walk through a Canadian airport with a million dollars in your bag and face no consequences — provided you follow one critical rule.

Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, anyone entering or leaving Canada with CA$10,000 or more in currency or monetary instruments is required to declare it to the Canada Border Services Agency. This includes cash in any currency, traveller's cheques, money orders, stocks, bonds, and bank drafts. The threshold applies to the total combined value, calculated in Canadian dollars at the prevailing exchange rate.

The declaration process is straightforward. When leaving by air, you are required to report to a CBSA office at the airport before clearing security. You fill out a cross-border currency report, answer some questions about the source of the funds and their intended use, and you are generally free to continue on your way. The entire process typically takes only a few minutes.

David did not know any of this.

How a Routine Trip Went Wrong

David had emigrated from Hong Kong to Canada in 1998. He built a successful small business — a chain of three dry-cleaning locations in the Greater Toronto Area. He was meticulous with his business finances and had never had a run-in with the law. The $200,000 he was carrying represented years of legitimate savings, carefully documented in his personal and business banking records.

When his 84-year-old mother told him she wanted to buy a small apartment in Hong Kong's New Territories, David offered to help. He withdrew the money over several weeks, planning to convert it to Hong Kong dollars upon arrival, where he expected a better exchange rate than what his Canadian bank was offering.

"I genuinely did not know I needed to tell anyone," David says. "I thought the rule was about bringing money into a country, not taking it out. I had never carried this much cash before. It did not occur to me that leaving Canada with your own money required paperwork."

David is not alone in this misunderstanding. According to a CBC investigation, millions of dollars in cash cross the Canadian border each year, and a significant portion of seizures involve ordinary citizens who simply did not know about the declaration requirement. Since 2017, the CBSA has seized over $91 million in undeclared currency, but only about $9 million of that was suspected to be connected to criminal activity. The vast majority came from travellers like David — people with legitimate money who did not follow the reporting rules.

The Seizure

At Pearson, CBSA officers flagged David during a routine pre-security screening. When asked if he was carrying more than $10,000, he said no — not because he was trying to deceive anyone, he says, but because he did not fully understand the question and was focused on getting to his gate.

Officers searched his bag and found the cash. Under Section 18 of the Proceeds of Crime Act, CBSA has the authority to seize all currency and monetary instruments when the full amount is not reported. The entire $200,000 was confiscated on the spot.

David was taken to a secondary inspection area where he was questioned for approximately three hours. He was asked about the source of the money, the purpose of his trip, his occupation, and his banking history. He was fingerprinted and photographed. Officers examined his passport and travel records.

"It was the most humiliating experience of my life," David says. "I am a 58-year-old man who has paid taxes in this country for over 25 years. And I was being treated like a criminal because I didn't fill out a form I didn't know existed."

David was ultimately released without criminal charges. The officers determined there was no evidence the money was connected to criminal activity. However, the cash was not returned. He was told he would need to pay a penalty and go through a formal review process to recover the funds.

The Long Road to Getting It Back

Under CBSA policy, penalties for failing to declare currency range from 5 percent to 50 percent of the seized amount, depending on the circumstances. In David's case, the initial penalty assessment was $10,000 — five percent of the total.

David hired a trade lawyer who specialized in customs disputes. The legal fees added up to approximately $8,000 over the following months. His lawyer helped him compile bank statements, tax returns, and business records to demonstrate the legitimate source of every dollar.

The review process took nearly five months. During that time, David's mother's apartment deal fell through because the funds were not available. She eventually purchased a smaller unit with help from other family members.

In February 2026, David received his money back — minus the $10,000 penalty. Combined with the legal fees, the failure to fill out a simple declaration form cost him approximately $18,000 and five months of stress and uncertainty.

"Eighteen thousand dollars and five months of my life," David says, "all because I didn't know about a one-page form."

Why This Happens More Often Than You Think

David's case is far from unusual. Customs lawyers who handle these disputes say they receive dozens of calls every year from people in similar situations. Many are immigrants sending money to family members overseas. Others are business owners dealing in cash-heavy industries. Some are retirees relocating funds. Very few are criminals.

The declaration requirement applies in both directions — entering and leaving Canada — and covers the combined total for families travelling together. A couple each carrying $6,000 would exceed the $10,000 threshold and would need to declare. The calculation is also based on the Canadian dollar equivalent, which catches some travellers off guard: a person carrying $8,000 US dollars may not realize that the amount exceeds CA$10,000 at current exchange rates.

Structuring — the practice of intentionally splitting money among multiple people or trips to stay below the reporting threshold — is itself a violation that can carry more serious consequences than simple failure to declare.

What You Should Do if You Need to Travel With Large Amounts of Cash

For anyone who may need to carry significant cash across the Canadian border, the rules are clear and the process is simpler than many people realize.

Before your trip, verify the current CA$10,000 threshold and check the exchange rate if you are carrying foreign currency. The Bank of Canada publishes daily exchange rates on its website. If the combined value of all cash and monetary instruments you are carrying meets or exceeds the threshold, you must declare.

When departing Canada by air, report to the CBSA office at your airport before you clear security. Not all airports have a prominently located CBSA office, so it is worth arriving early and asking airport staff for directions. You will need to complete a Cross-Border Currency or Monetary Instruments Report, which asks for information about the amount, the source of funds, and the intended use.

When arriving in Canada, you can declare on the automated kiosk, through the ArriveCAN app, or on the paper declaration card distributed during your flight. If you arrive by land, you make a verbal declaration to the border services officer.

Bring supporting documentation. While not legally required for the declaration itself, having bank statements, withdrawal receipts, or a letter from your financial institution can speed up the process and reduce the likelihood of additional scrutiny.

Consider alternatives to carrying physical cash. Wire transfers, international bank drafts, and foreign exchange services may be safer and, in many cases, offer competitive exchange rates. Several Canadian banks and specialized foreign exchange companies provide international transfer services that can move funds securely without the risks associated with carrying large amounts of cash.

The Bigger Picture

Canada's currency declaration requirements exist as part of the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. The information collected through cross-border currency reports is forwarded to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which monitors financial transactions for suspicious patterns.

The system serves an important purpose. But as David's story illustrates, it can also ensnare ordinary people who are simply unaware of the rules. Immigration lawyers and customs specialists have argued that the federal government should do more to publicize the declaration requirement — particularly among immigrant communities, where international cash transfers to support family members are common.

"The penalty structure is designed to deter money laundering," says one Toronto-based customs lawyer. "But in practice, a large share of the people who get caught are regular folks who would have happily declared if they had known they needed to."

David says he shares his story not out of bitterness but in the hope that other Canadians can avoid the same mistake. "It is a simple rule. You are carrying more than $10,000 in any form, you declare it. That is all. If someone had told me that before I went to the airport, none of this would have happened."

Key Takeaways

Carrying any amount of money across the Canadian border is legal, but amounts of CA$10,000 or more must be declared to the CBSA. The threshold includes cash in all currencies, converted to Canadian dollars, as well as monetary instruments like cheques, money orders, and bonds. The declaration process is free and usually takes only a few minutes, but failing to declare can result in full seizure of the funds and penalties ranging from 5 to 50 percent of the total amount. Deliberately structuring transactions to avoid the threshold is itself an offence. When in doubt, declare — the worst that happens is a brief conversation with a border officer and a few minutes of paperwork.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Currency regulations can change. For the most current information, visit the Canada Border Services Agency website or consult with a qualified legal or financial professional.