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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is exploring whether to close the Canada-U.S. border to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Trudeau made the comments in a radio interview with CBC Friday, just as the House of Commons — which is closing its doors for five weeks in an extraordinary effort to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus — passed legislation to ratify the new North American trade deal.

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The Senate then signed off on the bill to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement almost immediately, leaving royal assent as the final step before it becomes the law of the land. That is expected to happen before day’s end, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a news conference.

Ratifying the agreement, long a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s re-election hopes, could be a central element of Canada’s U.S. border strategy after the White House decision to block foreign nationals who recently visited Europe from setting foot on American soil.