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Snowbirds gather at Alberta border towns in advance of Nov. 8 reopening – Global News

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Ready, set, go: after being closed to most leisure trip vehicle traffic for nearly 20 months, the Canada-U.S. land border will open for fully vaccinated travellers on Nov. 8 and that has snowbirds excited.

Canadians getting set to spend the winter in the United States have been preparing to migrate south.

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Some have packed up their motorhomes and trailers and are spending the weekend in towns along the border, ready to cross bright and early Monday.

Calgarians Andre and Donna Call have been camped out since Oct. 20, waiting for the border to open so they can seek out the weather they’ve been missing.

“The sun, the warmth, and we’ve made some friends down there,” Andre said. “We’ve established some good relationships, some new friends — some Americans, some Canadians.

“I like the idea of where we are: we can buy fresh vegetables and fruit dirt cheap… so you can eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit all winter long. It’s amazing.”


Click to play video: 'Open Canada-U.S. border means options for Alberta snowbirds'



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Open Canada-U.S. border means options for Alberta snowbirds


Open Canada-U.S. border means options for Alberta snowbirds – Oct 13, 2021

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Lisa White said the first few days of the reopening will most likely see more southbound than northbound traffic as eager snowbirds flee to warmer climates — but next weekend could be a different story.

“There might be a little bit of a pick up in local traffic down at Coutts and Carway, but I think looking towards the weekend is when we can expect to see higher volumes as a result of the of the opening,” she said while speaking to Global News from the Calgary International Airport.

Remembrance Day falls on a Thursday this year, and White said stats like that traditionally corresponded with an increase in border traffic as people take the Friday off to have a long weekend.

“Looking at pre-COVID numbers, it’s always been a popular weekend, that in and of itself could be a reason for folks to to head south now,” she said.

“There’s also a lot of family reunification that’s probably going to happen this weekend as well, right? So we can expect to see some some numbers pick up Canada-bound next weekend.”

Read more:
Canada-U.S. land borders will open Monday. Here’s what we know

The United States said non-essential travellers crossing land borders from Canada will be asked about their vaccination status, and only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed through.

Proof of vaccination will be required if selected for random screening. COVID-19 testing will not be required to enter the U.S., provided visitors meet vaccination requirements, officials said.


Click to play video: 'Everything Canadian snowbirds need to know this year'



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Everything Canadian snowbirds need to know this year


Everything Canadian snowbirds need to know this year

However, the rules to return to Canada are different. Anyone crossing the border into Canada must show their proof of vaccination, must have a valid PCR test from within the past 72 hours, and must have the Government of Canada’s ArriveCAN travel application downloaded and filled out.

Those without a smartphone can also fill out the information online.

“You have to plan for your return to Canada as much as you should be planning for your trip south,” White said. “You have to make sure that you have your ArriveCAN completed — whether that’s using a computer or using a smartphone.”

Read more:
ArriveCAN app for cross-border travel includes hurdle for blind Canadians: advocate

White recommended drivers plan to avoid the peak busy periods — late afternoon or early evening — because crossing will take longer during the pandemic.

“Our CBSA officers will ask a lot of questions. With that added layer of the health screening questions that are now being posed, that takes extra time,” White said.

“We’re also doing PCR verification, vaccine verification, ArriveCAN verification — so all that combined, it’s taking a little bit longer than usual.”

People shouldn’t just have online access to digital forms of their documents — they should take screenshots or better yet White said, print everything off to have hard copies in case your phone dies or loses reception.

“Have paper copies of your vaccine records, have paper copies of your PCR test. Have all of that ready as a Plan B. So really, planning will make your travel, your return a lot smoother.”

Read more:
PCR test policy at border ‘actively being looked at,’ Tam says

White also noted that Canadians have a legal right to enter their home country — even if they catch COVID-19 while in the United States.

Anyone who arrives at the border with a positive PCR test, or is selected for random testing while trying to cross back home, will be referred to the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine next steps.

That’s why, White said, it’s critical is for all returning Canadians to have a quarantine plan — even if they don’t think they caught COVID-19 during their travels.

“Some questions that we get is, ‘Why do we have provided quarantine plan?’ Because we’re still doing testing at the border. It’s random, but it’s mandatory.

“So should you test positive upon arrival at the border, you need to have that quarantine plan to fall back on.”


Click to play video: 'The Travel Lady: What you need to know before crossing the U.S. border'



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The Travel Lady: What you need to know before crossing the U.S. border


The Travel Lady: What you need to know before crossing the U.S. border

One last reminder for Canadian travellers: all other border crossing rules still apply.

“So you’re entitled to $200 of goods duty and tax free after an absence of 24 hours and after an absence of 48 hours, you’re entitled to $800 duty and tax free upon return to Canada.”

Read more:
End ‘irrational’ COVID-19 testing at U.S. border, Canadian tourism group says

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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