Canadian Border Security Agency officers in Saskatchewan welcomed more than 715,000 travelers in 2016.

For Luke Reimer and his colleagues at CBSA, working to protect our country at its borders is something they are proud to do.

"Showing up to work every day, you never know what's going to happen, you never know who's going to show up at the border but you know that you're going to be there to protect Canadians and to act as Canada's frontline screening against dangerous goods and dangerous people," he said.

The top story of 2016 was seizing 21 undeclared firearms, including 14 handguns, at Saskatchewan land border crossings.

Reimer said a couple cases resulted in significant convictions and court fines.

A .45-calibre pistol, 13 overcapacity magazines, a prohibited switchblade, and a restricted AM-15 semi-automatic assault rifle seized at the North Portal border crossing on May 26. (Photo from CBSA website)

He highlighted a specific crossing at North Portal where a traveler was fined $10,000 after tossing a loaded .45-calbre handgun onto the pavement.

Second on the list was the significant enforcement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

"While that includes welcoming newcomers to our country it also means keeping people who shouldn't be in Canada out," Reimer explained.

CBSA officers in Saskatchewan refused entry to 484 nationals for various reasons, including criminality for convictions such as manslaughter and sexual assault.

The third story of 2016 was the amount of suspected child pornography cases, both at the land border crossing and international airports.

Reimer said a major priority for CBSA is to protect children, be on the lookout for missing children and people that would do children harm.

A significant story from 2016 was when North Portal officers removed a U.S. man who was attempting to enter Canada to live with a 13-year-old minor he claimed was his girlfriend.

In fourth place was several large scale interceptions of regulated goods.

Big stories from the year were at the Saskatoon International Airport, where officers seized 147 litres of undeclared alcohol.

In April at North Portal, officers uncovered 222 kilograms in undeclared tobacco.

And the fifth and final CBSA border story of 2016 was Saskatchewan officers seizing nearly 1,700 prohibited weapons including more than 1,600 switchblade knives found in a commercial trailer at North Portal.

Reimer said brass knuckles, stun guns and pepper sprays were other weapons that have prohibited status in Canada and were seized in 2016.