People In These 3 Provinces Are Most Eager For The Canada-US Border To Open 'Immediately'

When it comes to the Canada-U.S. border reopening, people in three provinces are particularly keen on it happening "immediately" and they want it more than anywhere else in the country.

According to a new poll by Nanos Research, when asked when Canada should eliminate all pandemic-related restrictions on travel across the Canada-U.S. border, 27.9% of respondents in the Prairies — Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — said travel restrictions between the two countries should be lifted right away.

This percentage is considerably lower in other provinces that are in favour of the border reopening immediately. It was 13.7% in Ontario, 13.6% in B.C, 10.4% in Quebec and only 4.6% in Atlantic Canada.

In the Atlantic provinces, 20.2% of respondents said they wanted to see the elimination of restrictions at the border by "this summer;" in Ontario, 17.1% said the same, with 13.1% agreeing in the Prairies, 11.6% in Quebec and 9.3% in B.C.

"This fall" had the most consistent support across all of the provinces, with 37.8% of respondents agreeing in B.C., 37.6% in Quebec, 32.2% in Ontario and 29.4% in both the Prairies and Atlantic Canada.

Quite a few people said the border should reopen "next year." That timeline has 22% of respondents supporting it in Atlantic Canada, 18.1% in Quebec, 16.7% in Ontario, 13.8% in the Prairies and 12.7% in B.C.

As for when the country as a whole wants all travel restrictions between Canada and the U.S. to end, 34% of respondents said this fall, 15% said immediately, 16% said next year and 14% said this summer. Additionally, 21% of people said they're unsure about it.

What has Justin Trudeau said about the Canada-U.S. border reopening?

Recently, Justin Trudeau said reopening the Canada-U.S. border will depend on vaccination rates and how well the country handles the first phase of new travel rules that allow fully vaccinated eligible travellers to enter.

While he revealed that unvaccinated tourists won't be allowed into the country for "quite a while," he did mention that his government is working on letting in fully vaccinated travellers from around the world in the coming weeks.

"We will move responsibly forward, we will continue the reopening of our borders, but we will do it in a way that ensures the ongoing safety of all Canadians," Trudeau said.