Members of our community have been missing out on travel and time with family due to the Canadian border being closed for the past 437 days. Familiar faces have been restricted to digital screens, travelers have dreamt of the day when they get to see their loved ones on the other side. Finally that date has been set. 

On July 1, 2021 people who have had at least one dose of the vaccine will be allowed to cross the Canadian border into New Brunswick without quarantining. This news has provoked many emotions within the people in our high school who are missing their loved ones. 

Jack Boone ‘24 is one of many students affected by the pandemic directly because he has Canadian family that he has been missing. Boone said, “I haven’t seen my grandparents for two years, so I am probably going to go to Canada a lot more than I usually would in the summertime. I am excited, I plan on going with my mom as soon as [the border] opens.”

Being reunited with Canadian family is something that Ethan Wydysh ‘21 and his family look forward to, as well. Wydysh said, “My family plans to move back to Prince Edward Island and finish our new house. Besides that I’m going to see my childhood friends again from the island, as well as my grandparents and brother who I haven’t seen in over a year.”

“When I heard the news I was very excited!” said Brynn Bard ‘24. “I can now go across the border to visit my grandparents and my dad who lives there. It has been almost two years since seeing them.”

Not only are people in our community excited to see the long lost loved ones, but many of us are also able to see the pandemic nearing an end due to this news. 

“The opening of the border will signal the pandemic nearing its end,” said Wydysh. “Canada will only open the border if they believe it’s safe.”