Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) was joined by Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01) in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging the safe and responsible reopening of the land border between the United States and Canada to vaccinated, non-essential Canadian travelers. Reps. Kuster and Pappas have been leading national calls to safely reopen the U.S.-Canada border since June. The border is scheduled to be closed until at least September 21, 2021.

“Allowing vaccinated Canadians to enter the United States across the land border will help reunite families,” the Members wrote. “Millions of Americans and Canadians have family members on either side of the border, including thousands of Granite Staters. Americans in the northern parts of our country typically enjoy easy access to Canada which enables them to maintain close, meaningful ties with their family members. The border closure has been particularly painful for these families. While this was necessary for public health during the height of the pandemic, these restrictions are no longer needed for vaccinated individuals.”

“Reopening the land border to vaccinated Canadians will help ensure the success of our fall tourism season,” the Members continued. “Tourism is a key driver of the New Hampshire economy, and autumn is our state’s second most lucrative tourism season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the land border closure, New Hampshire’s tourism industry experienced a $200 million drop in fall seasonal revenue from 2019 to 2020. Given the importance of tourism to our state’s economy and the large number of Canadians that visit New Hampshire during this season, the reopening of the U.S.-Canadian border to vaccinated Canadians is a top priority for our state.”

The full letter is available here and printed below.

Dear President Biden:

We write to renew our requests to safely and responsibly reopen the land border between the United States and Canada to vaccinated, non-essential Canadian travelers. Taking this action will not jeopardize public health, will allow families to reunite, and will help our economy continue to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After reviewing all of the available public health data, your administration has concluded that Canadians, regardless of their vaccination status, do not pose a threat to public health when they fly into the United States. Because driving in a personal vehicle carries less risk of COVID transmission than traveling through an international airport and flying on a plane, we do not believe reopening the land border to vaccinated Canadians will pose an additional threat to the health and safety of Americans.

Allowing vaccinated Canadians to enter the United States across the land border will help reunite families. Millions of Americans and Canadians have family members on either side of the border, including thousands of Granite Staters. Americans in the northern parts of our country typically enjoy easy access to Canada which enables them to maintain close, meaningful ties with their family members. The border closure has been particularly painful for these families. While this was necessary for public health during the height of the pandemic, these restrictions are no longer needed for vaccinated individuals. 

Reopening the land border to vaccinated Canadians will help ensure the success of our fall tourism season. Tourism is a key driver of the New Hampshire economy, and autumn is our state’s second most lucrative tourism season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the land border closure, New Hampshire’s tourism industry experienced a $200 million drop in fall seasonal revenue from 2019 to 2020. Given the importance of tourism to our state’s economy and the large number of Canadians that visit New Hampshire during this season, the reopening of the U.S.-Canadian border to vaccinated Canadians is a top priority for our state. 

The Canadian government took an important step by re-opening the land border to vaccinated Americans earlier this summer. We encourage you to follow suit and reopen the land border to vaccinated Canadians. Doing so will help us reunite families, strengthen our economic recovery and put our countries on the path to building back better. 

Sincerely,

Ann McLane Kuster

Member of Congress

Chris Pappas

Member of Congress

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