Almost 5000 Americans Have Tried To Come Shop & Sightsee In Canada Since The Border Closed

The global pandemic has resulted in a number of unprecedented moves by nations. For example, the Canada-U.S. border closure has effectively shut down the world's longest barrier between two countries. Even still, Americans are trying to head north for non-essential purposes, and thousands have been turned away.

According to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided to Narcity, over 10,000 US citizens have attempted to cross the border between March 22 and July 12, only to be denied entry.

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While just over half of these travellers did not have the specific reason for their trip documented, nearly 5,000 were attempting to enter Canada for reasons usually tied to taking a vacation.

That includes 2,840 people who wanted to spend some time taking tours or going sightseeing and 583 who just wanted to go shopping.

A further 1,333 Americans were trying to cross for recreational purposes.

Of the total attempted border crossings by U.S. citizens, the majority were through land, rail, and marine routes, while 719 involved trans-border air travel.

The CBSA also turned away 1,506 foreign nationals who attempted to cross from the U.S. into Canada for the same reasons.

The border between the United States and Canada has been closed since March. The two countries are reportedly looking to extend the closure to August 21.

Even with the restrictions in place, some American tourists have been able to cross into Canada by using a loophole where they claim they are only passing through to go to Alaska.

While non-essential travel is not permitted between the two countries, the CBSA recently reminded people that cars with American plates may have legitimate reasons for being in Canada.

This came after instances where vehicles with U.S. license plates were vandalized in Muskoka.

A group of American politicians has lobbied the Canadian federal government to start considering how to reopen the border, but a solid majority of Canadians are in favour of keeping it closed.