CANADA. The final pandemic-related restrictions on Canada-US cross-border travel are lifted today (11 May), a move hailed by the Frontier Duty Free Association (FDFA), which represents land border duty free retailers.
The FDFA is also calling on governments on both sides of the border “to never restrict our border again” and on ministerial regional representatives to be “proactive voices for the border communities and their unique businesses” in a post-pandemic environment.
Over the last three years, the US and Canadian governments closed the border, changed border policies, and only began to remove restrictions in a “very slow and disjointed way”, said the FDFA. Canada ultimately lifted its vaccine requirement on 1 October 2022, while the United States continued to require proof of COVID vaccination for Canadians crossing the border into the US. The land border closure happened while air travellers flew easily by air between the two countries.
“While we are thrilled to see this final restriction at the border lifted,” said FDFA Executive Director Barbara Barrett, “the impacts of the land border closure and restrictions are deep and long-lasting on border communities and business like ours. We urge both governments to never let this happen again and to take measures to protect our precious border and the ability for our border communities to thrive. It was wrong that the land border was treated differently than air travel.”
Border communities and border businesses have been disproportionately affected by the border closure and subsequent restrictions, added the association. While life returned to normal everywhere else, government regulations prevented border communities from resuming their way of life and economic base.
The FDFA recently released a study showing a sales decrease still at an average -42% decline compared to pre-pandemic. These export stores were shuttered for nearly two years and were down over -95% in sales during the full closure of the land border for 20 months.
“We did our part to keep Canadians and Americans safe at the land border,” said FDFA President Tania Lee. “Now, we need action to ensure our businesses can thrive and assurance that we will never endure such a border closure and restrictions again.” 
