Race to the White House: border closure prevents people from ‘moving to Canada’ if Trump wins

History repeats itself in more ways than one as Donald Trump pursues four more years in office as President of the United States.

In 2016, hordes of celebrities and their fellow Americans vowed to flee the country to Canada if Trump was elected.

Some, like actress Lena Dunham, later backtracked on their statement.

“It is easy to joke about moving to Canada. It is more difficult to live fully and painfully aware of the injustice around us, appreciate and fear your country at the same time. But I am willing to try,” she said after Trump’s victory.

The land of the maple leaf saw a spike in Americans trying to cross the border after the GOP presidential candidate defeated his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton, according to figures from Immigration Canada.

CTV News reported that Americans’ applications for permanent residence in Canada grew from 6,819 in 2015 and 7,715 in 2016 to 9,018 in 2017, the year of Trump’s inauguration.

Public expressions of a desire to move, specifically to Canada, have returned ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on November 3, when Americans will decide for Trump or Democrat Joe Biden.

Some have called the statements “ridiculous” and indicative of privilege.

Others noted that Trump built a wall on the US-Mexico border to prevent illegal crossings.

But there is a fairly glaring problem preventing American citizens from taking the lead in 2020.

On October 19, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a 30-day extension of the closure of the US-Canada border.

He said non-essential travel will remain restricted until at least November 21, 2020.

It marked the seventh extension of the border closure agreement since it began in late March.

Trudeau told a Winnipeg radio station that, regarding the number of Covid-19 infections, “America is not in a place where we feel comfortable reopening those borders.”

Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said: “Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe.”

The US Department of Homeland Security said the government is “taking the necessary steps to fight this pandemic together with the Canadian government.”

According to a count by Johns Hopkins University, the US has recorded more than 8.7 million cases of the coronavirus and more than 226,000 deaths.

Canada has recorded around 225,000 cases and just over 10,000 deaths.

To enter Canada today, foreign nationals arriving from the US must demonstrate to the Canada Border Services Agency that they are traveling for an essential / nondiscretionary purpose or that they are the immediate family of a Canadian citizen or resident permanent.

“If you are a foreign citizen arriving from the US, to enter Canada, you must demonstrate to the CBSA that you are traveling for a non-discretionary (essential) purpose or an immediate family member, that you do not have signs or symptoms of Covid- 19, and they have a quarantine plan for 14 days unless they are exempt, “the agency states.

“Traveling to Canada for discretionary (non-essential) reasons, such as tourism, recreation or entertainment, is currently prohibited.

“Unless you are exempt, if you do not have a nondiscretionary (essential) reason to travel to Canada, a border services officer will deny you entry.

“If you cause a risk of imminent death or serious bodily injury to another person while violating this (Quarantine) Act or regulations willfully or recklessly, you could be liable for up to $ 1 million in fines and / or imprisonment for up to three years . “

The CBSA states that people who live in the US and come to Canada directly are exempt from travel restrictions if their valid confirmation of permanent residence was issued before March 18, 2020.

Those who can also make the jump are Canadian expats, including citizens and dual citizens with a valid Canadian passport.

“Periodically, and more recently, we talk about, depending on what happens in November, do we move back to Canada?” Tristan Wallis, 39, told the National Post earlier this month.

“It gives you the confidence to sit back and wait and see what happens, knowing that if things get really, really, really bad, you don’t have to start freaking out and planning for it.”

He added: “It would have to get pretty bad here for us to want to leave and go back to Canada, where we might be giving up some of the benefits of being here.”