1. There is a long-standing law that may deny travelers entrance to Canada if they have ever been convicted of a criminal offense.
The list of inadmissible classes include convictions for:
A minor offense (including shoplifting, theft, assault, possession of an illegal substance, etc.)
An "indictable" criminal offense (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter; etc.), or
Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).
Canadian-bound travelers with DWIs on their records must go through a separate process to gain permission to enter; that process may take up to six months.
Travelers with questions should contact the Canadian Consulate handling immigration issues.
Whether traveling by air, land or cruise ship into Canada, travelers should be aware of the rules and how they may be affected.
2. Nothing has changed regarding admissibility or how Canada is applying its rules, but the level of information being shared between the U.S. and Canada has increased.
Canada considers DWI as a felony and the rules regarding criminality have been in place for a long time.
Canada is not applying them any differently or collecting any new information despite the theories proposed in various media reports.
As a result, if an individual had a DWI in 1999, for example, and visited Canada in 2003, he or she may not have had any difficulty being admitted. However, the sharing of criminal databases that now takes place between the U.S and Canada may result in that same individual now being prohibited from entry and returned.
Canada Travel Advisory