The longest undefended border in the world is suddenly becoming much harder to cross in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wednesday, days after Canadian leaders closed the border to other foreign nations, but not our neighbours to the south, the prime minister announced a mutual agreement to restrict “non-essential” travel between Canada and the U.S.

“We are in extraordinary times and in extraordinary times it’s important to make decisions swiftly,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said explaining the decision on Wednesday.

And on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clarified the measures would likely kick in on Friday night.

OK. So, the border is closing — but what does that mean for you and your loved ones?

Here’s what we know, and what we don’t know yet:

So, why is this happening now?

As both Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump have said, the goal is to stem unnecessary travel and hopefully slow the spread of outbreaks across the border.

This is especially important as U.S. border states like Washington and New York have become epicentres of COVID-19 in that country.

As early as March 16, though, the leaders were saying Canada and the U.S. were too closely integrated to close the border. So what changed?

Two things: Political pressure, and the rising numbers.

“They felt they had to do something because people were saying: ‘What about those damn Americans?’” said University of British Columbia medical geographer Tom Koch. The root of that fear for Canadians, Koch said, is that America’s well-publicized troubles with testing mean the true size of the outbreak may be much larger even than the growing numbers suggest.

“You’re getting outbreaks down in Washington state that are scaring everyone,” he said.

What exactly counts as “essential” travel?

We don’t yet know for sure, but officials have drawn a few hard lines. For one, the rules “will in no way impede the trading relationship,” Freeland assured reporters. “The last thing the Canada or U.S. economies need right now is another blow.”

Another hard-line is for Canadians returning to Canada — Freeland said they will always be permitted to come home — and, presumably, the same for Americans headed south.

The one kind of travel we know will be distinctly not permitted is tourism, with provincial and federal officials emphasizing the point that it’s not the time to be travelling across borders for fun during a pandemic — so, that means even a social-distancing conscious hiking trip through Yellowstone is out.

Canada’s earlier border restrictions on other countries also made allowances for close family members of citizens and permanent residents.

But that leaves a range of cross-border travel where the rules aren’t quite clear yet.

How many people and how much trade crosses the border each day?

According to the U.S. State Department, nearly $2 billion (US) in goods and services crossed the U.S.-Canada border every day before COVID-19, with roughly 400,000 people travelling between the two countries daily.

Figures from Statistics Canada show that in February 2020 alone, almost 745,000 Americans drove across the border into Canada, and 1.6 million Canadians entered the U.S. by car.

What happens to basic food imports like fresh fruit and vegetables?

In his Wednesday news conference, Trudeau assured Canadians that supply chains and the trucking industry will not be affected. “These supply chains ensure that food, fuel, and life-saving medicines reach people on both sides of the border,” he said.

Still, any new delays at the border can have knock-on effects. Brian Kingston, vice-president of international and fiscal issues at the Business Council of Canada, said the experience after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks show that sudden changes to border rules have the potential to cause major disruptions for time-sensitive shipments like fresh food.

The most important thing the government can do is communicate clearly and provide advance notice about any new procedures, he said. Something seemingly minor like requiring truckers to fill out additional paperwork could have big consequences. “If you introduce a five-minute delay per truck that wasn’t there yesterday, that piles up very quickly,” Kingston said.

What if it’s my job to cross the border, like the trucking industry, or a cross-border commuter? Will I be affected?

Canadians and Americans who cross the border for urgent work “will not be impacted,” Trudeau said Wednesday — but what exactly that means in practice is not yet clear.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Canada Border Services Agency had not yet clarified what kind of worker might be exempt from the new border restrictions. A spokesperson for the agency referred the Star to the list of exemptions applied to earlier instructions about self-isolating after travel. Those exempt included truck drivers, health care providers, airline crews and infrastructure workers — if they’re healthy.

Kingston said the federal government needs “to be very careful” about who counts as “essential.” In addition to obvious essential sectors, he said, workers in other industries should also be included. As an example, he cited the Canadian electrical grid, which he said depends on the expertise of U.S. workers who cross the border to perform basic maintenance and other tasks.

“You can multiply this across every industry,” Kingston said. “It may not be easy to see the immediate connection to an essential service, but they may, in fact, do something that’s critically important to a sector of the economy.”

... if truck drivers can still cross the border, do they not pose a risk of spreading the coronavirus?

Truck drivers are still subject to COVID-19 screening and questioning, and they’ll be denied entry if they exhibit symptoms or have returned from a “hot spot” country in the 14 days before crossing the border, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA).

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Drivers are also exempted from the 14-day self-isolation imposed on other border-crossers, so long as they’re healthy. But they’re expected to practise social distancing, self-monitor and self-isolate if they develop symptoms.

It’s a tricky balance. Mandating self-quarantines for drivers crossing the border “would bring our economy to a grinding halt and jeopardize the public safety of Canadians,” the CTA said in a statement.

What about Canadians still in the U.S., can they simply drive home?

Yes. Canadians can return home.

According to Evan Rachkovsky of the Canadian Snowbird Association, more than half a million Canadians spend their winter south of the border each year, with nearly three-quarters drivers. He estimates hundreds of thousands of them are still in the U.S.

What’s not yet entirely clear is what will happen to a Canadian who shows up at the border with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result. According to Canada Border Services Agency’s website, Canadians returning to Canada must tell the officer if they have a fever, a cough or difficulty breathing. (Regardless, any non-exempt traveller is expected to isolate themselves from others for 14 days upon re-entry.)

Rachkovsky said one of the biggest concerns for his members is that their medical insurance for travel may expire. Some insurance firms have already given Canadians notice that their coverage will end in 10 days, he said.

Can my non-citizen spouse or family member return home?

Canada’s restrictions on foreign nationals do not apply to immediate family members of Canadian citizens, permanent residents and diplomats, according to the federal government.

What about cross-border FedEx? Can I still shop online or ship things to family across the border?

The CBSA said Wednesday it did not yet know how the border closure will affect courier services.

Shannon Davis, a spokeswoman for FedEx in the U.S., told the Star Canadian authorities have confirmed the closure “does not apply to or impact cross border trade” and FedEx will continue to operate between the U.S. and Canada. According to the CBSA, the details of the border restrictions are a work in progress and more information will be available as things unfold.

Will anything change at the airports?

The CBSA said it does not know if or how the new border closing will change the situation at Canada’s airports, where the situation has already tightened up.

Last week the federal government drastically reduced the number of flights from foreign countries entering Canada, leaving airports in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Calgary as the only ones receiving international flights.

So, how long until the border is open again?

We don’t know. Realistically, the measures will be in place for however long it takes for officials in Canada and the U.S. to feel confident the spread of the virus is going down, and staying down.

“These measures will last in place as long as we feel that they need to last,” Trudeau said Wednesday.

Koch, the medical geographer, said that after the countries are past their peak for virus transmission, they may start allowing schools, parks, and restaurants to re-open with restrictions.

That could also justify letting American tourists into the country, he said.

But whether that’s weeks or months from now is an open question. Ultimately, the trajectory of the pandemic itself will decide how long mitigation measures like border control will stay in place.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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