'Deeply annoying:' U.S. border restrictions leave Canadians, Americans frustrated and confused
The announcement Wednesday that the United States would be keeping land border crossings closed to Canadians for all non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21 has left at least one border town mayor frustrated and annoyed.
Canada announced earlier this week that starting Aug. 9, all fully vaccinated Americans would be able to cross into Canada for any reason once again, but the U.S. is not reciprocating, a move that’s left Prescott Mayor Brett Todd frustrated.
“To find out that the Americans are simply not willing to do the same is simply very frustrating and deeply annoying, quite frankly,” said Prescott, Ont. mayor Brett Todd.
The Johnstown bridge is minutes from Prescott and connects with Ogdensburg, N.Y.
“We know there’s a lot of travel into the U.S. Some of it is to visit family and friends, a lot of it’s for shopping, a lot of it is for vacation purposes and so on,” Todd says, adding there are a lot of pent up Canadians wanting to make the trip Stateside.
“I do think that they’re actually selling themselves short on this as well. They’re impacting their own border communities.”
Jonathan Nause is one of those Canadians itching to travel again. The Ottawa resident recently returned via airplane from a NASCAR trip. He had plans to go to another race in early August in New York State, but has now it the brakes on that trip.
“Coming up on this one now, this next trip it’s going to have to be flying and renting a car again, I just don’t think that we’re going to be able to do it financially.”
Nause adds that in his experience, life has largely returned to normal in the States, and he even faced one of his fears to have that feeling again.
“I hate flying, terrified of heights, don’t like the concept of flying but I just did it. I had to go. I had to get back living life.”
The decision to restrict Canadians from crossing the border is one that is confusing to many. Canada has recently surpassed America in terms of vaccination rate; as of Wednesday morning 51.5% of Canadians were fully vaccinated compared to 48.3% of Americans.
“It’s definitely a little frustrating seeing that, because I think the Syracuse Mets had around 10,000 people in their stadium here recently,” says Jessie Hooper, the events manager at Thousand Islands Winery located in New York State, referencing a baseball game played on July 4.
Hooper says this would usually be the winery’s busiest time of year with lots of tours, tastings, and rentals, but they are missing a big chunk of their business due to the lack of Canadian tourists.
“We’re definitely missing some of those groups,” Hooper tells CTV News. “On the State side, we’re slowly seeing more and more of them.”
“It’s a one-way street right now and I would say I think the one way-street is still under construction,” says Todd of the border situation.
“I’m not sure how much travelling is actually going to be happening.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
DEVELOPING Israel says Hamas deal is 'far' from meeting its demands as Rafah offensive looms
Israel said the terms of a ceasefire deal Hamas accepted on Monday remained 'far from' meeting its demands and warned its military operations in Rafah would continue, even as it sent negotiators to talk to mediators.
2024 Met Gala: Everything to know about fashion's annual soiree
Fashion's biggest night out — hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each year on the first Monday of May — is both a forever-evolving spectacle and a carefully crafted event.
Concern over speeding in Fredericton neighbourhood grows after 2 teens, young adult killed in crash
Three people – including two teens – are dead, and two others are injured after a crash that has left a greater Fredericton community shaken.