Custom Clearance
 

Hi I am travelling to Alberta from Ireland. I have separate flights from Dublin to London where I board my flight to Alberta, Calgary.. I have to get off plane and collect my luggage in Toronto and get back on another flight to Alberta. - although I booked it all in one. All this is done in Terminal 3. Firstly I am concerned as i only have one hour 45 min to do this. The other thing I'm concerned about is 'Customs Clearance' - some people tell me I will have to do it in Toronto and it takes quite a while and they only have special areas. Can anyone tell me , is there enough time to change flights - let alone do a customs clearance.? Can I not do it in Calgary as that is where I'm staying and only passing through Toronto. #This is worrying me now as I go in 3 weeks. I appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. Carmel

Yes you will have to go through customs as you enter the country. Depending on the time of day it can be very fast or take up to an hour.
If you booked all the way through to Calgary with one airline and end up missing your flight, the airline should book you on the next available flight without cost.

Pearson Toronto has three entry areas for arriving passengers, adjacent to each other. One is for Canadians coming home, another for Americans en route to their country, and the third for out-of-country citizens visiting Canada. In the area for Canadian residents, the only one I have experienced, much of the entry procedure depends on computer scans of passport and duty declaration, then a line-up for a real live human border officer to check the documents and ask questions if any. This sounds complicated but plenty of attendants are present to help you navigate and the crowds move relatively quickly. Only when you are admitted to the country do you face Customs. It's down stairs to the luggage carrousels. Since you are continuing to Alberta, you may or may not have to retrieve checked bags, depending on the airline. Air Canada now can forward the bags to the final destination without the passenger needing to retrieve them in Pearson. Then it's just a quick walk-through where the Customs agent retrieves your document. I suggest you double-check with your carrier on this issue, as it can streamline the amount of time you spend making the connection.

https://www.torontopearson.com/Connecting.aspx

Well that ended up in the wrong place. I’m guessing you are on British Airways, then Westjet? And that is a guess. Have you looked at the above?

Overall I think you have more than enough time if your plane from London is on time.

xcountry, interesting that you posted BA to WestJet, as I looked at this post a couple of hours ago and thought exactly the same thing. Terminal 3 is the clue.

And yes, I'd say that 1 hour 45 minutes should be ample time if the inbound flight is on time, and that's allowing for passport control, re-checking luggage, and re-clearing security.