Should Whatcom County expect a large number of Canadians to cross once the border reopens?

A number of Whatcom County businesses have been waiting nearly 19 months for Tuesday’s announcement from the White House that the U.S. will reopen its land border crossings to vaccinated Canadians for non-essential purposes in November. Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu called the announcement “welcome news for our businesses, which have been missing their Canadian customers.” But how big of an impact should Whatcom County expect? Is it time for one last stock up at Costco and Trader Joe’s in Bellingham before the stores become more crowded as they were before the border closed?

Judging by numbers published by the Canada Border Services Agency, Whatcom County businesses that once saw a hearty dose of Canadian shoppers shouldn’t expect things to return to normal all at once.