Travel ban lifts between U.S. and Canada

Where were the people?

The ban on non-essential travel between the U.S., Mexico and Canada lifted on Monday, November 8, but the throngs of Canadians coming across the Pigeon River Border never happened. Visitors didn’t show up in Grand Portage. Not at least in the numbers hoped for.

Nor in Cook County.

But, said Todd Ford, the marketing director of the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, there was some good news. “We did have some snowbirds stop on Monday morning. Quite a few. They came through in their RV’s and spent some time here at the casino.”

Other than for essential travel, the border was closed to Canadians for the last 20 months. Canada opened its borders to the U.S. on August 9, but the U.S. kept its land border closed for non-essential travel between Mexico and Canada until Monday.

Crossing into the U.S. from Canada can require proof of vaccination, or a border patrol agent can ask if you have been fully vaccinated. However, once a Canadian traveler has crossed the border, they must be tested here within 72 hours of returning home.

On Monday, Carola Laroche of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, said only one car was ahead of her at the Pigeon River Border crossing.

“I heard there was a six, seven-hour wait to get across the border in Montreal, “said Laroche, adding, “there weren’t any other vehicles at the border here other than the two of us. A nice young border patrol agent interviewed me and asked me a lot of questions. He knew where Casper’s Hill was, and he wanted to know which Nelson family I was visiting.”

Laroche was here for her sister, whose husband recently passed away. She wasn’t happy with the travel restrictions and noted a niece had missed gaining entry back into the U.S. by half an hour and had to restart the process of being tested again.

The Canadian government’s website says Canadian travelers in the United States must receive a pre-entry test in the U.S. And tests needed for proof can’t be the rapid antigen tests. Instead, more rigorous testing involving polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nucleic acid test (NAT), nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs), or reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) tests are admissible, along with some others.

Starting November 8, Ford and his able crew had the 15,000 square foot Grand Portage Lodge & Casino (GPLC) welcome mat set out for Canadian visitors. A hoped-for large crowd didn’t show, but the people that did come offered encouragement. The casino and hotel were rebuilt not long before the pandemic hit. As a result, many of the casino’s more than 425 slot machines, including Keno slots, and rooms, have been idle with no Canadian players.

Located less than an hour from Thunder Bay, Canadians make up as much as 90 percent of the GPLC business. Grand Portage Lodge and Casino expanded their casino hours from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. for November 8. As a nod to Canadians who had been entered into the casino’s Players Club, the casino offered Canadian players who showed I.D.s at the Players club a free leather GPLC leatherette key ring and a 2-for-1 drink voucher. Because of the border closure, the tier-level Canadian players held in March of 2020 and will be honored for the remainder of 2021 and 2022.

Another business significantly affected by the travel ban has been Ryden’s Border Store. Family-owned since 1947 and located one-half mile from the U.S./Canadian border, the business relies heavily on Canadian traffic. A gift shop and duty-free liquor store, the business also offers parcel service pick-up for Canadians.

In International Falls, it was much the same following the November 8 re-opening date. Few Canadian license plates were noticed, said Rainy Lake Gazette Editor Laurel Beager. “The problem for Canadians is getting home. They need a test.”

Laroche said it cost her $226 to get tested in Canada (with the tax) and hopes it won’t be as expensive to get tested in the Northland. However, if the test results don’t come back within 72 hours, she must get re-tested, she said, and wait for those test results so she can re-enter Canada.

“They (Canadian officials) really need to do something about this,” Laroche said with some disgust in her voice.