JNelson113

Just wondering if anyone has heard about the border closing being extended. I have been searching the news and can't find anything. It is currently set to expire on May 18th.

I ask because I have a vacation rental in Whistler starting 6/27. I put down a deposit back in January. The rental agency is refusing to allow me to cancel and receive a refund. They are saying that they will only give me a credit toward a future booking if the border is closed on 6/27. The date of final payment is 5/13; if I don't pay then I will forfeit the deposit. It seems highly unlikely that the border will be open on 6/27. Thoughts?

Schweden

Even if the border is reopen by then, quarantine may be a requirement. Even for Canadians, certain provinces have banned non-essential domestic travel and required self-isolation. I'm hoping for a domestic roadtrip to the Maritimes on those dates but I'm not even certain that I'd be allowed entry into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia...

While domestic tourism doesn't seem to be banned in BC right now, I think a 14-day quarantine on international arrivals will very likely continue into the summer. According to the news, this is the current situation for arrivals into YVR for travelers that can even enter Canada.

Badenoch

I don't like your chances. The most optimistic estimate I've heard about reopening the border to non-essential travel is the end of June.

JNelson113

Thanks to you both. I agree; doesn't look good.

Finkface

If you do decide to try and come, be aware that Whistler folks are not really following a lot of the social distancing recommendations. I was up there last week and people are out and about in numbers, gathering in groups etc. We do have very few cases here in BC and almost all are clustered in a long term care home, a prison and a chicken processing plant all in the city, so there really is little to worry about in terms of transmission. But if you are coming in from the US, it would probably be neither welcome nor neighbourly to visit. Especially in such a small community where resources would be severely stretched were you to become sick or worse, cause an outbreak. The locals are (uncharacteristically) not welcoming of tourists at the moment and were even trying to have the highway shut down to all but locals (unsuccessfully so far) to keep people away. My advice? Postpone until you can be certain that you won’t inadvertently be a burden or worse on a small community.

Badenoch

The resistance to visitors is not exclusive to BC. Residents in the tony cottage region of Muskoka in Ontario are openly hostile to cottagers and along the northwest shore of Lake Erie the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the region has issued a public health order forbidding seasonal residents from visiting their properties.

tdiddy23

I agree that borders are not likely to be opened in May. Mid June (they seem to close it 30 days at a time) would be that best case scenario but I think even that is looking unlikely judging by the more cautious approach of our federal government (who control borders) vs most provinces. Keep in mind that if you remove metro NYC death rates between USA and Canada haven't been all that different. Perhaps they could open land border in a piecemeal fashion starting at the west coast?

While I am not advocating going against public health guidelines and visiting Whistler/Pemberton or other small towns at this time I find the attitudes of the locals a bit much. If their "hospital" is overrun they will be transferred down a short car ride to Vancouver. Just like they would be for almost any other serious medical ailment. Whistler has almost certainly had more spread than is reported (we weren't testing people not requiring hospitalization until recently) with the number of foreign tourists they receive, so for them to be out gathering while trying to block/shun Vancouverites is ridiculous.

JNelson113

Thank you all for your perspectives.

bcranger

Can anyone specify what essential travel means and what measures are actually put in place in the airports to enforce this? I have a Canadian friend who needs to come to the U.S. in person to file a visa extension - essential to her, perhaps not essential to others.

LondonElite

It is up to a CBP officer to determine ‘essential’. Filing a visa extension is not one of them and she should expect to be turned away. What did the US embassy suggest?

https://www.dhs.gov/all-news-updates...topics_tid=164

tcook052

Canada and U.S. about to extend ban on non-essential travel across border to June 21: Source

JIMCHI

The border closure with the U.,S. has been extended until late June but AC is still showing flights with availability between DEN-YYZ. Any ideas why ?

JNelson113

I would guess that those flights will be cancelled.

I've been watching the news very closely as I was supposed to go to Whistler from June 27 to July 15. Sounds like it will be a loooooong time before Canada opens the border to US citizens. I was hoping that they would implement some sort of test and trace option, but there's been no hint of that so far, at least from what I've read.

abc5

travelers with essential reason to travel, are still in need to get on those flights. the borders were never closed for essential travel.

iahphx

As is my custom, I was planning a July trip to the Maritimes from the USA. Given that the current virus situation seems pretty predictable -- it's fading, and should be mostly gone in a month -- I thought the US-Canada border would likely open in late June. I think that's still the case, but I see that a lot of the provinces seem very scared by the virus and the prospect of outsiders bringing new cases. I get the sense that there could be no virus whatsoever in July, but still plenty of closed borders. Is that an accurate assessment, and that maybe I need to plan a July vacation elsewhere? I was hoping that the politics would be less polarized in Canada than in America, and that may be true, but the virus fear seems to be even stronger. I also have a suspicion that even if the borders are open, most activities would be cancelled due to the fear, which would impinge on my enjoyment of the area.