Don’t you need a passport to go to Canada nowadays?
To get back home (and to get into Canada) you need
1. an “enhanced” state drivers license/ID or
2. a passport card or
3. a passport
A passport or “smart licence” is needed for every occupant in the vehicle for entry to the USA. The border guard WILL take either from your hand and pass it through a scanner. Every time.
Whether you’re in a car, on an airplane or on a boat.
Every. Single. Time.