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Summary

A Tiny American Town Is Trapped By BC & Their Governor Sent A Letter To Trudeau For Help

It's an odd situation.
Point Roberts Washington Is Basically Trapped By BC & Their Governor Asked Trudeau For Help
Madereugeneandrew | Wikimedia, justinpjtrudeau | Instagram
Senior Writer

The border closure is having a big effect on one American town and Canada is being asked to step in. Point Roberts, Washington isn't connected to the U.S. by land because B.C. is basically trapping it. So, the state's governor sent a letter to Justin Trudeau for help.

Point Roberts is located at the end of a B.C. peninsula and it's not connected to Washington in any way but it's part of the U.S. because it's below the 49th parallel.

The only way to get to other parts of the state and the U.S., in general, is by going through Canada.

With the border between the two countries being closed since March, the approximately 1,300 people living in the town can't leave.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee sent Trudeau a letter about this situation.

He said that because of the isolation from the state and the U.S., services are limited in Point Roberts so residents usually travel into Canada or through to Washington to get things they need.

Inslee believes that his government and Trudeau's government can come up with a solution that helps the residents travel through B.C.

He noted that one possible solution is something similar to the transit pass that lets Americans come through Canada to go to Alaska.

That would allow Point Roberts residents to go between the two countries by displaying the pass at the Peace Arch Border Crossing.

"Over the years, we have creatively worked together to solve problems and realize so many opportunities," Inslee said in his letter.

So, he hopes that Trudeau will collaborate with him on this.

Washington's governor isn't set on the transit pass as the only solution for this odd situation. He's open to any ideas that Canada has.

There have been conversations between Inslee and the Canadian Consulate General in Seattle but Trudeau hasn't publically responded to the governor's letter.

Some Americans have been using the Alaska loophole as a way to enter Canada and do recreational things like boating in B.C. or doing tourist activities in Banff.

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    • Senior Writer

      Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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