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This measure will not impact American flights, or those from the Caribbean or Mexico.

The government has rejected calls for tighter border controls at several points in recent weeks, always suggesting the science and advice from public health officials didn’t support such a move. Late last week, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said they could even be counterproductive.

“Canadians think we can stop this at the border. But what we see is a global pandemic, which means that border measures are highly ineffective and, in some cases, can create harm,” she said

Trudeau said they’re still listening to public health officials, but the virus is moving extremely quickly.

“We’ve taken the best advice of our public health officials and now is the time to take this particular step. It is a significant step. It is a step that we take in exceptional circumstances, but it is the right step to be taking today.”

Photo by Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press





These measures come days after American president Donald Trump announced a 30-day travel ban on citizens from 26 European countries that took effect from midnight last Friday.

The Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said the border measures will strengthen the country’s response, but the concern is about the virus within communities.

“From my perspective the most important public actions must be to shore up our domestic response,” she said. “Border measures add layers of protection on top of that fundamental public health action.”

Canadians who find themselves unable to get home on commercial flights, either because they are sick or because those flights have been cancelled, can reach out to the government for consular support and Trudeau said they will be able to get financial support.

The decision to keep the U.S. border open to tourists prompted criticism from British Columbia’s Health Minister Adrian Dix, who told a press conference that they hoped the government would go further.

“We remain concerned that access to visitors from the United States continues to be allowed,” he said. “It is our strong view and our strong message that visitors from the United States not come to British Columbia.”