Today will be one of the busiest days of the year at the Pigeon River border crossing as many people from the Thunder Bay area head south to get a head start on the Black Friday sales in the US.

Twice the traffic

In 2011, on the day before Black Friday:

  • 1,100 vehicles and 2,900 people headed south at the Pigeon River border crossing.
  • That's double the traffic on the same day (Thursday) the week before, when 550 vehicles and 1,300 people went through the border station. Stats from US Department of Homeland Security
  • The Canada Border Services Agency says it expects a slight increase in northbound return traffic this year over last year at Pigeon River, and a 4 per cent increase over last year at the Fort Frances border crossing, based on traffic volume trends so far this year.
  • Peak northbound volumes are expected to occur between 3-7 p.m. on Sunday at Pigeon River, where wait times may be longer than half an hour.
  • Peak northbound volumes at Fort Frances will also be between 3-7 p.m., with similar wait times.

The US Department of Homeland Security told CBC News that almost 3,000 people crossed into Minnesota at Pigeon River on this day last year.

For shoppers like Rhonda Slongo, heading to the US for Black Friday is fun.

“I love shopping,” she said. “We usually go (to) Kohls and stuff like that or whatever clothing store I can drag my fiancé through.”

But for many others in Thunder Bay, the idea of Black Friday is hard to stomach.

"I just cannot ... go to where the place is, across River or wherever, and stand there and fight with people to get deals,” Debbie Backstrom said. “I'm not an American shopper."

Backstrom said she'd rather shop local and support businesses in Thunder Bay.