Trevor KucheranLast Updated
Canada will not open for American tourists across the U.S and Canada land border as the closure was extended for at least another 30 days.
Canadian Minister of Public Safety announced the extension on his Twitter Monday morning.
“We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe.”
We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe. More info:https://t.co/EZ3pi3asJr
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) October 19, 2020
The extension means the land border will be closed for all non-essential traffic including U.S. tourists wanting to enter Canada until at least November 21st.
Blair's announcement came as no surprise as last week, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau made it clear Canada was not willing to allow American tourists at this time.
Justin Trudeau said in the interview with Smart Start that the country is committed to keeping the border closed.
“The U.S. is not in a place where we would feel comfortable reopening those borders. We will continue to make sure that Canadian safety is top of mind when we move forward. We see the cases in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and we need to continue to keep these border controls in place,” Trudeau said.
The border was first closed in March, and there have extensions every month since. The last extension was set to expire on October 21 has now been extended.
The Canadian air border is open for some Americans including for funerals and for married couples and families to reunite.
Canada announced that it would reopen to select international travelers arriving by air on October 8th, 2020.
Currently the Canadian government is allowing the following international travelers:
- Extended family members traveling to Canada on compassionate grounds
- Partners who have been dating a Canadian for at least 1 year and their dependent children, adult children, grandchildren, siblings and grandparents
- Non-relative foreign nationals under compassionate reasons in specific circumstances, such as a close friend experiencing a life-threatening illness, critical injury or death, with the potential for limited release from quarantine to visit the injured or dying loved one.
- Starting October 20th, international students who are attending a learning institution that has a COVID-19 readiness plan in place that's been cleared by provincial or territorial health authorities
All approved travelers still need to follow Canada's strict quarantine measures which requires all incoming passengers to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days.
Canada will be increasing its enforcement of quarantine measures which already have very strict penalties in place if a traveler is caught violating self-quarantine.
Fines can be issued up to $750,000 and even jail time for those that refuse to follow quarantine orders.
Canadians are currently also banned from entering the United States by land border crossing for non-essential reasons including tourism.
The ban does not apply to air travel. Canadians are still able to travel to the United States by plane for tourism or recreational purposes.
Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau said the federal government's top priority remains keeping Canadians safe.
“From the very beginning, our priority has been quite simple: Making sure that Canadians are protected from COVID-19 and that has meant taking strong actions at the border and continually looking how we can improve our actions to prevent importation of COVID-19,” Trudeau said.
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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories