Would you make fewer trips to the U.S. if there was a toll at the border?

A prominent B.C. economist is calling for an extra fee for vehicles crossing into the U.S. to help keep money in Canada and ease congestion.

Keith Head of the UBC Sauder School of Business said the toll could make up for the gas tax revenue that is lost when Canadians travel into the U.S. for cheaper fuel.

He envisions a user-pay model similar to the Port Mann Bridge where people who choose to cross into the U.S. pay more.

He said the money could be used to offset the operating costs of the taxpayer-funded Canadian Border Services Agency.

“People who cross the border… which is a fairly small minority… should be paying more, just the way people who use the Port Mann should pay a higher share of the costs of running the bridge,” Head told CTV Morning Live.

He believes the toll would also help the environment by lowering emissions and border congestion.

“When people are idling their cars for two or three hours at the border that’s not doing anybody any good,” he said. “That’s a lot of pollution, that’s a lot of C02 emissions, that’s just wasting people’s time.”

Head said new technology could allow the border fee to be adjusted depending on whether you’re crossing during peak hours.

“As it gets more congested you could say ’30-minute border [wait] is a dollar fee, for two hours it gets up to three dollars, etcetera,” he said. “I think it would get the idea into people’s heads that it might be a bad time to cross.”

Despite the purported green benefits, Head admits most people hate the idea, and said he’s even received hate mail over it.

The proposed toll comes as the Loonie hit a year-long high Thursday, reaching 94 cents U.S.

Head said cross-border day trips rise by up to two per cent for every one cent increase in the Canadian dollar.

Last year, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security proposed a border crossing fee for Canadians to help offset increased security costs.

But the idea was shouted down by politicians in Buffalo, New York, a popular cross-border shopping destination, saying it would hurt the retail economy.

Seventy-five per cent of the Canadian population lives within 90 minutes of the U.S. border.