The U.S.-Canada border closure for COVID expires Saturday — will it actually reopen?

The border closure to non-essential travel between the U.S. and Canada is set to expire on Saturday, Nov. 21, but Canadian media is reporting it will likely be extended once again until almost Christmas.

According to a CTV News story posted Wednesday, Nov. 18, Canadian sources say that the border closure measures are set to be renewed through Dec. 21.

An anonymous source told The Toronto Star that the closure would be rolled over another 30 days, according to another story published Wednesday.

Whatcom County is certainly feeling the economic impact of the border closure, which now prepares to enter its eighth month.

The Western Washington University Border Policy Research Institute has found that Canadians comprise approximately 75% of cross-border travelers to and from Whatcom County, depending on the exchange rate when the border is open, according to information Director Laurie Trautman emailed to The Bellingham Herald for an earlier story.