Contested B.C. fence along U.S. border has been taken down, police say

An unauthorized fence that sparked an international investigation after it was erected in B.C. along the U.S.-Canada border has been taken down, according to police.

The Delta Police Department, which recommended the fence be put up after a B.C. senior inadvertently crossed into the U.S. and died in 2023, said it was taken down Thursday morning after a meeting between the police chief and city manager concluded that the barrier "should be removed immediately."

"Considerations for other options in the future to mitigate the risks identified in the assessment will be explored," the department said in a statement.

Delta residents were not happy about the unguarded, black chain-link fence that was put up earlier this month, a project that the mayor and city council said they were not consulted on beforehand.

On Wednesday, the International Boundary Commission, a bi-national organization responsible for regulating construction close to the Canada-U.S. border, confirmed to CBC News that it did not authorize the fence and was investigating the matter.

The commission said it has been notified of the fence removal without commenting on what it means for its investigation. 

Delta councillor Daniel Boisvert, one of the loudest opponents of the fence, said he's glad to see the fence go, saying he did not like what it represented.

"I felt that this type of fence, barrier, wall (whatever you want to call it) did not symbolize the trust that our two countries have shared for decades," he said in a statement Thursday.

Fence not authorized

Immigration and history experts said the fence likely violated a historic policy meant to keep the Canada-U.S. border vista clear from coast to coast, with one immigration lawyer claiming the fence was in violation of the treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain — when Canada was still a British colony.

The fence in Delta was mere inches away from a sign that says "no construction or trees" within 10 feet or three metres of the international boundary.

The fence, roughly 30 metres long, was put up at the end of English Bluff Road in Tsawwassen, a community within the Metro Vancouver suburb of Delta, B.C. That side of the border adjoins a park in the Washington state community of Point Roberts.

The Delta Police Department recommended the fence be built to prevent people from unintentionally crossing into the U.S. following a 2023 incident in which a Tsawwassen senior went for a walk and didn't return home. He was found dead a few days later in Point Roberts after inadvertently crossing into the U.S.

Monument Park in Point Roberts, which has grassy space that extends across the border into Canada, is a place where Canadians and Americans have historically been able to meet for picnics without going through border patrol. It became a particularly popular meeting place during the COVID-19 pandemic when the borders were officially closed.

While there was previously no fence along this part of the border, there were and still are border patrol cameras that monitor the area. Many other parts of the short border are marked by a variety of private property fences or, as Harvie described, low barriers that prevent cars from crossing over. 

WATCH | This short stretch of border fencing may be violating an old war treaty: 

Why this B.C. fence along the U.S. border may be violating the War of 1812 treaty

1 day ago

Duration 2:03

A small fence built along the Canada-U.S. border in Delta, B.C., may be violating a long-standing treaty from 1814. The fence was put up earlier this month as a safety precaution, but as Jon Hernandez reports, it has sparked an international investigation.