Why Canada's border could stay closed into autumn FacebookTwitterEmail The Canadian border slammed shut to American tourists at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and it's likely to stay that way for a while. (Photo by Lars Hagberg / AFP)LARS HAGBERG/Getty The Canadian border slammed shut to American tourists at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and it's likely to stay that way for a while. That appeared to be the consensus of business leaders on both sides of the border during a virtual panel discussion Wednesday morning. First, Canadians largely oppose it, said Jean Charest, a former premier of Quebec who serves on a Wilson Center's Canada Institute panel studying how to reopen. A Leger poll taken last month showed 70 percent of Canadian respondents had concerns about reopening the border to Americans.