Ford’s Travel Attack Ads Factually Incorrect
May 19, 2021 Marsha Mowers
The Ontario PC Government has launched a series of social media, radio and television ads that cite travel as the main cause of COVID spread in Canada and criticize the Federal Liberal Government’s handling of the border during the pandemic.
The television attack ad can be viewed here.
Industry experts and some reporters have suggested the ads are simply a deflection from the Ontario Government’s fumbling of the pandemic response.
During a press conference held May 13, Premier Ford slammed the travel industry, blaming it as a major source of spread. During that conference he called for tighter measures at the border, including mandatory hotel quarantine for land travellers and testing for domestic travellers. The Premier said “mutant COVID variants are flying into Canada” and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “didn’t close the borders when the pandemic started. He didn’t close the borders when it got worse.”
That’s factually incorrect. Travel continue to remain a very low source of cases in Canada.
According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, the travel measures Canada has implemented decreased air traffic by 96 per cent and crossings at the land border by 82 per cent.
The latest stats available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, show that less than 1% of cases are connected to travel, as community exposure continues to be the main cause.
Earlier this week, it was announced the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least June 21. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he doesn’t see the border opening until 75% of Canadians have one vaccine and 20% have two. Right now roughly 45% of Canadians have their first dose, but only a handful (about four per cent) have two doses.
Non-essential travel restrictions have been in place since March 21, 2020.
About the Author
Marsha Mowers made the move to editorial side of travel after many years working in destination marketing where she represented places such as NYC and Las Vegas. Her experience on “both sides” of the industry has put her in a unique position to provide valuable context to both readers and trade partners. Marsha also serves as Director of Content for TravelPulse Canada
