A year later, Canada remains off limits to U.S. vacationers
Originally closed due to COVID spread in U.S., neighbor to north struggling now
John Sennett’s vacation home lies within half a mile of the U.s.-canada border. Unfortunately, it’s on the wrong side.
It has been a year and a half since the Capital Region resident and his wife have set foot in the home on Wolfe Island in Ontario. The border officially closed a year ago, in the wake of the spread of COVID -19, and there are no signs that a reopening is imminent.
Early on, the administration of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited the spread of the coronavirus in the United States as the reason for closing.
But, Sennett points out, the U.S. lately appears to be having more success vaccinating its population than Canada has had. He points to a website from Bloomberg News that showed Canada as of Wednesday had administered just nine doses of vaccine per 100 people, compared with 34 per 100 in the U.S.
And while President Biden said the U.S. would have enough vaccines for every American by May 1, the Montreal Gazette on Thursday reported that Canada would reach that point two months later, July 1.
Sennett is growing frustrated. “Canada’s slow rollout of vaccinations has been hard to understand. I have read that an early contractual arrangement with a Chinese vaccine producer went bust late in 2020,” he said in an email to the Times Union. That is true. The BBC reported last month that a deal with vaccine manufacturer Cansino had fallen apart.
“There was no adequate plan in place for alternate supplies,” Sennett added. “That seems to be the main factor. Even some front-line health care people in Canada are still waiting for full vaccination.”
Canada also contracted with European suppliers, fearing that then-president Donald Trump would block exports of U.S. suppliers to Canada. Trump did issue an order giving U.S. citizens first priority for the vaccines.
Manufacturing problems and concerns about the safety the Astrazeneca vaccine have disrupted European supplies.
On Thursday, the border closing was extended another 30 days, to April 21, and there were signs the close relationship between the two countries was beginning to fray.
“The economic and social impacts continue, but there is also a growing concern about the over-arching impact on the entire relationship between the U.S. and Canada, which is arguably unique in the world,” said Garry Douglas, who heads the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh.
“Unlike other bi-national relationships, which are largely
driven by government-to-government actions, the special relationship between the U.S. and Canada has long been driven by peopleto-people connections and interactions,” Douglas said. “And so this unprecedented separation is now inarguably doing deep and lasting damage on multiple levels.
“Simply put, it is fundamentally eroding our special relationship.”
Earlier Thursday, Catherine Loubier, Quebec’s delegate-general in New York, said much about the relationship was still in place, including trade and commercial ties.
“There’s a lot that is working,” she said. “Truck traffic is the same. Critical supply chains, food health.
“But I understand the concerns,” she added. “It’s unprecedented.”
Essential workers can cross the border, including health workers. And there’s what many consider a loophole in the closing. Air travel is still permitted, and that has triggered a business in Canadian snowbirds taking a short flight across the border while their vehicle is shipped in. The vehicle is delivered to them at the airport and they begin their road trip south.
But it’s the leisure traveler who might have driven or taken the train to Montreal or Toronto for a weekend who is feeling the most impact.
While New Yorkers face quarantine restrictions in neighboring Vermont and Massachusetts, those restrictions are lifted if they are fully vaccinated (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, one of Johnson & Johnson, with a twoweek wait afterward).
There is no such flexibility with the Canadian closure.
“Our key concern is that while the stakes for both countries are enormous, there continues to be a lack of appropriate urgency shown by both governments in planning and pursuing the way forward,” Douglas said. “Our own senators and congresswoman get it and are advocating strongly with us, but we must all up the sense of urgency for at least some interim steps. We will not let up.”
Elise Stefanik, a Republican from Schuylerville, and Brian Higgins, a Democrat from Buffalo, head the bipartisan Northern Border Caucus that is seeking ways for the nreopening.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the Times Union, “As we rapidly increase vaccinations, including of critical border workers, the American and Canadian governments must soon spell out a clear step-by-step plan to safely reestablish increased cross border travel.”
“It has been devastating to lose that free-flowing connection between the U.S. and Canada for a year,” said Michael Cashman, the supervisor in the Town of Plattsburgh. “There is no active plan to designate (how) the border would reopen. We need a plan.”
The European Union, a number of airlines, and the Cuomo administration are looking to develop vaccination “passports” that would give fully vaccinated individuals access to everything from sporting events to foreign travel. The passports could be digital, perhaps with technology to secure it. But there would need to be agreements among governments to give it widespread acceptance.
Cashman said his town has felt the impact of the loss of Canadian day visitors and tourists.
“On any day I could stand in any parking lot and see a sea of Quebec license plates” surrounding the local shopping mall and outlet stores, Cashman said. “Speaking for myself, I certainly miss the opportunity to go north,” where parts of Montreal feel like a European city.
While Champlain Centre, the local mall, didn’t reply to a request for comment, Cashman said a “buy local” sentiment among area residents has helped merchants weather the loss of Canadian consumers.
“The economy has somewhat been buoyed by people doubling down and supporting local businesses,” he said.
Loubier, the Quebec delegategeneral, said she’s looking forward to the day the border can reopen.
“I think we should prepare to celebrate this moment when it comes,” she said. “My message to Americans is, ‘we miss you.’”