Courteous but so revenue-focused. I think it should be renamed Canada's Bureaucracy Support Agency or possibly Cash Before Safety Agency.
As a dual citizen, I've only been stopped for secondary inspection entering Canada once, as a kid traveling alone on a bus. If you aren't suspicious, they won't hassle you. However, new immigrants unfamiliar with the processes might appear suspicious.
What gets me is that when crossing into the US, questions focus on safety and security--why I was in Canada and why I'm coming back. But entering Canada, the focus is on extracting revenue: the value of items in my car, if I'm bringing cigarettes or alcohol (cue surprised face when I say I don't drink). They ask to charge tariffs, even though I'm returning to the US with all goods as a US resident in a US-tagged car. It's baffling, especially since Canada has a lower debt-to-GDP ratio than the US. read more