Peace Arch International Park in Blaine.
The closure of the U.S.-Canada border has been extended another month to Nov. 21, according to a tweet from Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair on Monday, Oct. 19.
We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until Nov. 21, 2020," Blair wrote in the tweet. "Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe."
The two countries first agreed to close the border to non-essential travel beginning March 21, and have extended that restriction on a month-by-month basis -- Monday's announcement marking the seventh extension.
Monday's tweet from Blair is not a surprise, as last week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has no plans to open the border with the United States while its neighbor to the south continues to see high COVID-19 rates during a radio interview.
"We have committed to keeping Canadians safe and we keep extending the border closures because the States is not in a place where we would feel comfortable reopening those borders," the prime minister said during an appearance on Winnepeg radio station 680 CJOB Wednesday as a guest of the "Mackling, Megarry & McNabb" show.
Trudeau also tweeted Monday about the extension of the border closure.
Earlier this month, the two countries announced plans to ease some restrictions and allow more families and loved ones to cross the border for reasons not previously included among the essential or allowable reasons.
But on Oct. 9, the Immigration and Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued that warning via Twitter to extended family members hoping to cross the border to avoid make travel plans or purchasing non-refundable tickets until all their paperwork had been completed and approved and authorized.
The tweet also reminded those expecting to travel that they must have plans to quarantine for 14 days once they arrive in Canada.
"This includes people in a long-term exclusive dating relationship and their dependent children, adult children, grandchildren, siblings and grandpartents," the tweet read. "Examples of extended family members in exclusive dating relationships include fiancé(e)s, romantic partners, boyfriends, girlfriends or any other couple in an intimate, loving relationship of at least this year."
B.C. update
Unfortunately, the numbers on both sides of the border do not signal a reopening coming anytime soon, even once Nov. 21 rolls around.
As of Monday morning, the United States had the most coronavirus cases in the world during the pandemic with more than 8.1 million confirmed cases and 219,000 related deaths, according to the John Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard.
Canada, meanwhile, was 28th overall and has had fewer confirmed cases (nearly 201,000) than the U.S. has deaths. So far, 9,816 Canadians deaths have been linked to COVID-19.
According to the British Columbia COVID-19 dashboard, the province has seen 11,189 total cases during the pandemic and 251 confirmed deaths as of Sunday, Oct. 18 -- an increase of 1,123 cases and six deaths since Oct. 13. It also shows that the number of daily cases has dramatically increased since mid-August and the total number of active cases in the province is 1,513 -- an increase of 119 cases since Oct. 13.
More than half of the total cases in the province (5,884) are in the Frasier Health Authority, which borders Whatcom County. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority accounts for 4,036 cases.
With a population of approximately 5.1 million, British Columbia is averaging 219.4 cases and 4.9 related deaths per 100,000 residents over the course of the pandemic.
For comparison, the Washington State Department of Health reported 98,201 confirmed cases and 2,239 related deaths on Sunday -- an increase of 6,283 cases and 56 deaths since Oct. 13. With a population of approximately 7.5 million, the state is averaging 1,309.3 cases and 29.9 deaths per 100,000.
Economic impact
Whatcom County is certainly feeling the economic impact of the border closure, which now prepares to enter its eighth month.
The Western Washington University Border Policy Research Institute has found that Canadians comprise approximately 75% of cross-border travelers to and from Whatcom County, depending on the exchange rate when the border is open, according to information Director Laurie Trautman emailed to The Bellingham Herald for an earlier story.
In 2018, that would have represented approximately 10.5 million southbound Canadian travelers through the Blaine, Lynden, Sumas and Point Roberts points of entry.
Those Canadians represent a large portion of consumers in Whatcom County -- anywhere from 2% to 46% of the weekend customer base Whatcom County retailers see, Trautman reported, adding that the average is about 17%.
Essential travel between the two countries is still allowed, though, and that includes transportation of freight.
According to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics published Sept. 23, $91 billion in transborder freight was transported between the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico in July -- that was up 10.9% from June and 62.2% from May 2020, but still down 11.2% from July 2019.
Trucks hauled $26.2 billion worth of freight between the U.S. and Canada in July, according to the transportation statistics -- up 3.2% from June but down 4.5% from July 2019. Trains hauled another $6.4 billion between the U.S. and Canada -- up 12.4% from June but down 17.6% from a year earlier.
July saw the second-largest monthly gain in freight hauled across U.S. borders so far in 2020, according to trucking magazine LandLine.com.
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