Most Canadians want to keep US border closed during coronavirus pandemic, poll shows

Americans wanting to visit the country’s northern border have been out of luck the past two months due to coronavirus restrictions.

And if Canadians have it their way, those restrictions will last for a while longer.

A poll released Tuesday by Canadian outlets DART & Maru/Blue indicate a vast majority of Canadians do not want their country’s border with the United States reopened yet. Of the 1,512 randomly selected Canadian adults, 83% of them want the border to stay closed, poll results show.

There is a 3.9% margin of error in the poll.

The U.S.-Canadian border has been closed for non-essential travel since March 21, according to NPR.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week America’s northern border “will be one of the early borders to be released.

“Canada is doing well,” Trump said. “We’re doing well.”

But Tuesday, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the border will remained closed until June 21, according to CBC. Restrictions were scheduled to end this week.

There are more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and 90,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Canada has 79,000 confirmed cases and 5,900 deaths, the university reports.

In the Dart & Maru/Blue poll, only 25% said the border should reopen “soon and carefully,” which would mean requiring temperature checks and travelers to “attest to not having any health symptoms in the two weeks” prior.

“The reaction (of Canadians) at the moment should not be a surprising one,” pollster John Wright told The National Post. “Canadians recognize ... the virus does not respect borders.”

Only 12% of Canadians polled said they would visit the U.S. if restrictions were eased.

There was a “clear desire” by the Canada provinces to keep the border closed, Trudeau said, according to CBC.

He said last week the country is “going to be very, very careful about reopening any international travel, including in the United States, before we feel that it is time.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 9:58 AM.