Dozens of vehicles with U.S. plates line up at B.C. border as COVID-19 restrictions lifted

After being shut down for 17 months, fully vaccinated Americans can once again cross the border into Canada for non-essential travel.

As the COVID-19 restrictions lifted at 9 p.m. PT Sunday night, dozens of vehicles were lined up at the Peace Arch border in Surrey ready to cross.

2:40 Fully vaccinated U.S. residents cross into B.C. as restrictions lift

On Monday morning, the border remained busy with vehicles waiting over an hour to cross into Canada.

Border officials opened a third lane around 6 a.m. PT.

2:10 U.S.-Canada border reopening to vaccinated Americans

A lot of recreational vehicles were in line, including RVs and many with kayaks or bikes with them. Plates were seen from Washington, California and even as far away as Texas.

Eligible U.S. citizens and permanent residents must live in the States and have allowed 14 days to pass since receiving a full course of a Health Canada-approved vaccine.

They are also needed to show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that’s no more than 72 hours old and to use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.

The other B.C. crossings were not as busy as the Peace Arch, which reported about an hour wait to cross the border Monday morning.

The organization representing B.C.’s tourism operators says it’s cautiously optimistic about the border reopening but said it is too late in the season to have any lasting impact on the province’s tourism businesses.

“Even though we’re opening the border to Americans and ultimately internationals next month, it’s too late to really salvage a lot of the tourism season, and recovery won’t begin in earnest probably until midway through next year,” Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., told Global News on Sunday.

“A lot of operators are barely hanging on by a thread.”

The U.S. has resisted easing restrictions on non-essential travel for fully vaccinated Canadians at land crossings, and won’t say when that might change.

—With files from Simon Little and The Canadian Press