The longest international border in the world closed on Friday, March 20 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into Canada.
Canada and the United States agreed to reopen the border on May 21, but as COVID-19 cases and deaths soared in the United States, Prime Minister Trudeau determined to extend the border closure for nonessential travel until June 21.
With cases and deaths climbing in the United States, the move to keep the border closed for a longer period seemed prudent on Trudeau’s behalf. Like him or hate him, people concerned for public health will give Trudeau some credit for at least trying to keep Canadians safe by extending the border closure to June and perhaps longer if necessary.
Another fed announcement on Friday, May 22 introduced a nationwide promise to fund provincial efforts in testing procedures for COVID-19. The aim of tracking positive contacts funded by federal dollars would help jurisdictions share data and perhaps eliminate a second wave.
There are privacy issues with contact tracing, but preventing a second wave of COVID-19 in the autumn might prove to be vital.
But the question for local retailers in Assiniboia and South Central Saskatchewan is when will this border closure end?
There are stores, hotels and tourist destinations in Coronach, Willow Bunch, Rockglen, Fife Lake and Gravelbourg who are relying on tourist dollars from the U.S. Canada, Asia and Europe in the summers, but the 2020 well has already run dry.
Many Saskatchewan businesses rely on foreign currency, but they especially crave for American dollars in the warmer months, so if the border reopens by September, this would alleviate some of the economic stresses, albeit to a smaller degree than originally planned before the pandemic began this winter.
In a press conference, Trudeau said international travel will resume based on information gleaned from weekly studies.
So, nonessential travel to the U.S. and elsewhere will be the mainstay for at least another month or perhaps longer as the COVID-19 pandemic affects Canada. But we must be wary of what’s happening south of the border where cases keep escalating.
The United States had 1.66 million confirmed cases and 97,414 deaths by May 23. In the interim, Canada’s COVID-19 situation differed significantly, with 83,621 cases and 6,355 deaths since the pandemic began.
In terms regarding population differences, this meant 168.38 deaths per million in Canada compared to 293.31 deaths per million in the United States on May 24. America had taken the edge over Britain in COVID-growth since the beginning of May, but Britain still had higher rates of COVID-19 cases on May 24 with 539.09 deaths per million as per Our World in Data.
The American government’s ineptitude heightened the pandemic’s effects in a country with poor infrastructure, inequalities and a disintegrating social safety net.
George Packer in The Atlantic wrote: “When the virus came here, it found a country with serious underlying conditions and it exploited them ruthlessly. Chronic ills—a corrupt political class, a sclerotic bureaucracy, a heartless economy, a divided and distracted public—had gone untreated for years.”
With COVID-19 cases rising south of the border, Trudeau made the wise decision to keep the border closed, with exceptions for trade and practical motives.
But, the Canadian economy’s reliant on American tourists – the border must reopen whenever the nation’s public health is safe again.
Americans spent almost $10.6 billion inside Canada in 2018. However, in accordance with Angus Reid polls, the majority of Canadians wish to keep the border padlocked until signs of the pandemic ease.
One-in-five (19 per cent) say the border should open when the current deadline on June 21 expires. The majority of Canadians, or 42 per cent, say the border must reopen by September. A smaller number – 26 per cent – say the border gates shouldn’t be unlocked until the year’s end.
