VANCOUVER — Fully-vaccinated Americans have been coming into Canada in droves since the border reopened.
New numbers from Canada Border Services (CBSA) show land travel more than doubled after Aug. 9, when Canada started welcoming vaccinated Americans.
During that week, more than 218,000 people crossed, compared to just over 100,000 the week before.
With a few weeks left of the busy tourism season, it’s a surge many were hoping for, but it’s a far cry from life before the pandemic.
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The CBSA has temporarily reduced its service hours at some land borders due to COVID-19 protocols, and the majority of the NEXUS lanes are temporarily closed.
Still, more than 160,000 Americans were granted entry to Canada.
Regionally, the highest number was in Ontario, with 95,000 foreign nationals entering the country by land crossings during that time.
That was followed by the Pacific crossings, with about 32,000 crossings, the majority through Washington state which has longstanding ties to B.C.’s tourism sector.
The crossings in Quebec, the Prairies, and the Atlantic saw more modest numbers in that week.
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But it’s a massive downturn from the crossings we saw in 2019, when the pandemic was only in its early stages and the border was fully open.
The Canada/U.S. border was closed in March 2020 to non-essential traffic, halting tourism and recreational travel between the two countries.
While Americans are now allowed to come up, fully-vaccinated Canadians remain unable to drive down south with restrictions in place in the U.S. until at least Sept. 21.
All other foreign nationals are expected to be able to enter Canada on Sept. 7, “provided that the domestic epidemiologic situation remains favourable,” the Canadian government said. They must be double vaccinated, complete a pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test, and register on the ArriveCAN app or web portal.
Air travel still down over pre-pandemic times
Canada’s land borders are not the only points of entry seeing an increase in travel in recent days.
Between Aug. 9 – 15, nearly 180,000 people travelled by commercial air into Canada. That was a small increase from the previous week, but only about 20 per cent of the number seen in the same week in 2019.
However, despite the end to the mandatory quarantine for U.S. travellers, the majority of people flying into Canada remains Canadian citizens.
Air travel was heavily impacted by the pandemic, and the Canadian government has not lifted its advisory for citizens to avoid non-essential travel outside of the country.
Many COVID-19 exposures are connected to flights, with some passengers travelling while they were considered infectious. Click here for a full list of recent confirmed cases and potential exposures.
August 22 Air Canada Flight 213, Calgary to Vancouver Flair Flight 604, Edmonton to Abbotsford Flair Flight 517, Victoria to Calgary
In response to the pandemic, the majority of airports across Canada have been closed to international travellers, except for Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
In addition to the land borders, the Canadian government also loosened its pandemic pause on smaller airport.
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Air travel was also expanded to include more airports to the list allowing U.S. travellers to land in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies.
An additional five airports were added Aug. 9.
New international entry airports:
Halifax Stanfield International Airport;
Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport;
Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport;
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport; and
Edmonton International Airport.
Slow reopening of water points of entry
More points of entry opened on Aug. 24 to allow travellers to enter via the water by small marine vessel.
Further to the new public health measures affecting travel to Canada, the CBSA is resuming service at six small vessel reporting sites in Ontario. https://t.co/vnsCc1foTrpic.twitter.com/V2itnZtXSo
On Tuesday, the federal government announced border services at select ferry terminals will be restarting in the coming weeks. The majority are on B.C.’s Vancouver Island.
“There was confusion in the region on August 9 when the borders re-opened but the marine border remained closed,” the mayor of Victoria Lisa Helps wrote in a statement following the announcement.
Helps says the news is “terrific” and will be a boost to tourism to the provincial capital.
“The Belleville Terminal is an important entry way to the region and a key engine of the region’s economy. The Coho and Clipper are critical links for Victorians with our neighbours to the south and we look forward to this long-standing border crossing being reopened,” Helps said.
Ontario
Point Alexandria (Wolfe Island Ferry)
Pelee Island
British-Columbia
Alaska State Ferry Terminal
Belleville Terminal
Blackball terminal
Washington State Ferry Terminal
The Walpole Island Ferry in Ontario will reopen on Sept. 19.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
