Will the U.S. Open Its Doors to Canadian Visitors? Decision Due Today

Will the U.S. Open Its Doors to Canadian Visitors? Decision Due Today

July 20, 2021 ctn_admin

We’ll soon find out if the U.S. will throw open its doors to Canadian visitors.

Canada on Monday said it will open its doors to fully vaccinated Americans and permanent U.S. residents starting August 9. Many observers expected the U.S. to follow suit and end its current border closure with Canada.

But Reuters news service on Tuesday posted a news brief on its site that suggests that’s not happening.

“Canada has been told by U.S. Government that their current border restrictions are likely to be extended on July 22 – Canadian Public Safety Minister,” the brief reads.

There’s no quote from Public Safety Minister Bill Blair in the brief, which is just one sentence long.

The current U.S.-Canada border closure agreement ends today, July 21, so a decision will have to be announced at some point.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said it’s not Canada’s place to offer suggestions to the U.S. about how to handle its border.

“I think every country should and does set its own border policies. We have been working with the United States to keep them informed to make sure that as much as possible our choices are aligned, but you will have seen, everyone will have seen that our countries took different approaches certainly during the beginning of the pandemic,” he told reporters in Hamilton, Ontario.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week said he’d soon have an announcement on opening the American border to European visitors, a move the U.S. tourism industry has been pushing for some time.

“We are continuing to review our travel restrictions and any decisions about reopening travel will be guided by our public health and medical experts,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a Monday White House briefing. “We take this incredibly seriously but we look and are guided by our own medical experts. I wouldn’t look at it through a reciprocal intention.”

Canadians are allowed to fly to the U.S. under the border closure agreement, but Canadian visitors aren’t allowed to drive into the U.S., which causes headaches for people with family members on both sides of the border, It’s also a pain for Canadians who own property in the U.S.

Stay tuned to Canadian Travel News for more details.