The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to travellers for more than half a year now, but thousands of Americans continue to try and cross the border every day for non-essential reasons.
Between March 22 and October 18, 6,479 travellers from the U.S. were rejected from entering Canada, according to new figures from the Canada Border Services Agency.
If you include travelling by air and waterway, a total of 21,356 Americans has been denied entry into Canada since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most travellers were rejected with tourism and sightseeing cited as a top reason for being turned away. Shopping was also among the reasons travellers were blocked from entry.
The border between Canada and the United States was closed to non-essential travel on March 21 and has remained closed, with the order extended now until November 21. Extended family members of Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents, including those in an exclusive dating relationship of at least one year and their dependent children, as well as adult children, grandchildren, siblings, and grandparents, are allowed to enter Canada.
Non-relative foreign nationals are also allowed to enter under compassionate reasons in specific circumstances, such as a close friend experiencing a life-threatening illness, critical injury, or death.
International students studying at Canadian colleges and universities are also now allowed to enter the country to continue their education.
Anyone who re-enters Canada must quarantine for 14 days.
