What's with the gate ID checks in Canada?
 

SO, I don't often fly Canadian domestic, but when AC is half the price of UA, well....
So trying to board AC YVR-YYZ. Provide my FL DL for ID to the GA. It's rejected, only a passport or a Canadian DL will suffice, apparently.
Mrs. NY-FLA had preceded me down the jetbridge, carrying my passport (an artifact of carrying around vaccine proof cards which will undoubtedly fall out/become lost if I carry it.)
The GA was quite happy to chase her down the jetbridge to retrieve my US passport.
Makes me think, though... What on earth is the purpose of this check, clearly redundant to the one at security? Wouldn't be effective for checking against the no-fly list, could potentially be effective against resale of one person's ticket to another person, maybe sort of...
Also what does someone do who has neither a CDN DL or a passport on them? The GA, pressed, agreed that a Nexus Card would serve her purposes, but that's only a solution for a huge minority of cases.
Or does this have to be accepted as part of the dance to fly domestically in Canada?

I've used my California ID numerous times to board domestic flights in Canada. This might be a case of "I work at the airport you're wrong". AFAIK any valid government issued photo ID should be sufficient in Canada for domestic travel. If you're connecting onwards to an international flight they might want to see your passport to ensure you have the correct travel documents for onward travel, but if it's an entirely domestic trip then your DL should be fine.

There is no ID check at security on domestic flights, just a BP scan.

In the US, TSA checks identification (the "travel document checker").

In Canada, the airline checks ID at boarding. CATSA only scans boarding passes unless you use a trusted traveller lane in which case they will verify you have a NEXUS card.

The rationale for ID verification is to check names against the no-fly list, prevent the reselling of tickets, and reduce credit card fraud.

Since this is a question about Canadian rules rather than AC specifically, I'm moving this to the Canada forum.

Adam Smith
AC Forum Moderator

The Canadian Government's page on pre-boarding identification requirements states that for domestic Canadian air travel, if you don't have Canadian-issued ID, you should use a document that you used to enter Canada. Presumably as a non-Canadian this is something you should have, unless you entered Canada irregularly.

I flew domestic last year twice with US drivers license. No issue.

Well, I'm a Canadian/US/UK citizen, so irregular entry didn't happen. I think my only Canadian issued ID is a 20 year expired CDN passport. Maybe that would work?

I think that's the answer to my question, I always used the Nexus lines at CDN airports and I (wrongly) thought the Nexus card check was the ID check, that was done with government issued ID in the non-Nexus lanes.

I wouldn't hold out much hope for GA's validating pax against the no fly list. That check is much more effectively done on ticket purchase, or at the very least, during check-in. Similar perspective for the reducing credit card fraud rationale. Reselling tickets? Maybe.

You misunderstood. Of course the GAs don't validate pax against the no fly list. This is done in the background.

But if your name is JOE and you are on the non-fly list, you won't be able to check-in for a flight as JOE. So you go ahead and book a ticket in the name of JIM. Then you show up at the boarding gate, and unless the GA validates that your ID says you are JIM, you have just boarded a plane when you shouldn't have. (same story for reselling flights: JOE bought a non changeable ticket but can't make it, however his buddy JIM can...)

So the airline (the GA of the airline) performs the ID check/verification. One of the claimed purposes of the ID check is to check names against the no-fly list.

Not according to the above discussion.

Even if the GA validates the ID says the pax is Jim, Joe has still boarded a flight he should not have boarded.

No worriesit doesn't work that well in the US either. And contrary to popular belief, you can board a flight in the US without picture ID... It just takes a lot more intrusive checking....

The point isn’t to stop a person named Joe who has a valid fake id that says Jim from being able to board as Jim.

The point is to stop a person named Joe from booking as Jim without a valid ID that says Jim.

This process achieves that. And it’s pretty hard (although I’m sure not impossible) to get a valid fake id under another name. Particularly for the majority of people on the no fly list (or people who would like to transfer a plane ticket).

It would also be a pretty slippery slope to allow for foreign drivers licenses to be accepted for Canadian domestic travel. With the US, it might be easier, but I don’t think gate agents are really trained to know what drivers licenses look like for international travellers. Whereas they would generally know what a provincial drivers license looks like, and certainly what a passport looks like.

If I show up to the gate with a fake Nebraska ID, what are the odds that the GA would know what a real Nebraska ID looks like.

The US accepts provincial drivers licenses so I don’t think it’s that unreasonable for Canada to accept US ones. I assume a lot of these things can be verified electronically or at least have the big book of ids that bouncers at bars used to have. (Disclaimer: It’s been a long time since I’ve been at a bar and gotten id’d).

A huge number of assumptions there.... And you believe that's any different in the US, with, eg, an American Samoa DL? Hence the oft delayed push for "Real ID"

If you're a Canadian citizen, aren't you required to enter Canada on your Canadian passport? (Not sure how it works when it's expired.)