Canadian border could reopen as early as next month
Mid-August is the target time for a full reopening of the border.
TOLEDO, Ohio — An announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is bringing hope, and relief, to many here in the U.S., and across the border in Canada. The border, which has been closed for more than a year, could reopen soon.
As COVID-19 restrictions lift in some places and are heighted in others, across the country, the closure of the Candian border could end soon for vaccinated Americans.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says if his country can maintain its current pace of vaccinations, the border could reopen as early as mid August, but that would require equal effort on the American side.
This news means a lot to families separated by the border closure and those with jobs and commutes that require they cross into Canada. This has been a strain especially on long-distance relationships.
“When you don’t realize how alone you are when you’ve been with somebody,” said Al Oleski, who’s currently in a long-distance relationship, during an interview with WDIV Detroit.
Travel to Canada has still existed in some capacity, but with restrictions lifting, daily traffic across the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit will increase, with the hope COVID cases will do the opposite, making vaccination all the more important.
“Over 60% of our local population is fully vaccinated and I think, you know, it’s time to start laying out the framework and the pathway for how the border is going to reopen and to give everyone some certainty on when that will happen, how that will happen,” Windsor, Ontario Mayor Drew Dilkens tells WXYZ Detroit.
It will be a process to eventually get daily commuter traffic back up to its pre-pandemic levels, and Canadian businesses that relied on American consumers recovering their customer base. There will still be restrictions in place, but the reopening of the border is just the first step to a return to normalcy in both countries.
This is still a moving target with regard to a date as to when the border could reopen. For updates, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.
