
The federal government says the border between Canada and the United States will stay closed to non-essential travel for at least another month.
Late Friday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced the closure has been extended to March 21, one year after the world’s longest undefended border was first shut down to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The closure has been extended since then month-by-month and with more contagious COVID-19 variants spreading throughout Canada and the U.S., this latest extension is unlikely to be the last.
Blair tweeted the government will continue to base its decisions on the border “on the best public health advice to keep Canadians safe.”
Non-essential travel restrictions with the United States have been extended until March 21st, 2021. We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe from #COVID19.
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) February 19, 2021
The border has remained open for essential travel throughout the pandemic in a bid to avoid disrupting the flow of food, medical supplies and other crucial goods between the two countries.
With files from the Canadian Press.