Illustration: Flag of Canada.

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Pierre Roussel / NEWSCOM / SIPA

Since the partial closure of the border between the two countries in March, more than 18,000 foreign travelers from the United States have been turned back by Canada for non-essential travel.

The majority are Americans arriving from the United States.

Canada and the United States closed their common border, the longest in the world, on March 21, except for trade in goods and goods and essential workers, in order to contain the coronavirus epidemic.

In mid-August, the border closure was extended until September 21.

Canadians worried about the pandemic

Normally, more than 400,000 Canadians and Americans cross the border between the two countries every day, which is almost 8,900 km long.

The exchange of goods and commodities on both sides totals C $ 2.4 billion daily.

The United States is the country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 188,000 deaths on Sunday.

Canada for its part reported 9,183 dead on Sunday.

The situation has raised the concern of some Canadians fearing that Americans will come to Canada for non-legitimate reasons and thus risk spreading the epidemic.

"The Alaska fault"

Tensions have arisen in particular in British Columbia and Alberta, provinces in western Canada through which Americans are allowed to transit if they can justify their intention to travel between Alaska and the southern part of the United States. for essential reasons, such as work or returning to one's main residence.

But in recent months, some Americans have been accused of exploiting the "Alaska Rift" to come to Canada for sightseeing.

At the end of July, the Canadian authorities then introduced stricter rules and additional entry conditions with the aim of reducing the length of stay for travelers in transit.

On Saturday, an American family from Alaska was escorted by Vancouver police to the British Columbia-United States border for staying too long in Canada and not taking the most direct route to get there. travel to the US state of Washington.

The four family members were ordered to pay a fine of CAN $ 500 each.

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