Government of Canada extends border closure another 30 days

Travelers looking to cross into the United States for the first time in two months will have to put their trips on hold as the Government of Canada extended the Canada-u.s. border closure until June 21 at the earliest.

“It was the right thing to further extend by 30 days our closure of the Canada-u.s. border to travelers other than essential services and goods,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during his daily news conference on Tuesday.

The government introduced strict border measures in March to limit the spread of COVID-19. Those measures, which were extended by 30 days on April 21, would have been lifted on Wednesday.

The rules remain the same.

All non-essential travel across the border is forbidden. Canadians, as well as Americans, cannot cross the border to open or check in on their cottages or vacation homes.

Sightseeing, boating, hunting and visiting family or friends are also prohibited. But the border remains open to commercial traffic and essential workers who need to cross for work.

At the moment there are no concrete plans in place to reopen the border, but the situation is fluid, according to the prime minister. Both countries continue to communicate with the objective of easing cross border travel.

“Once we get to a point where non-essential travel picks up again in the coming months we need to have strong measures in place and we need to look at those closely,” Trudeau said.