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NEAR ISLE, Maine (WAGM) –
The Canadian government lifted the PCR test requirement on its own citizens crossing the border on November 30.
Many hope that by abandoning the testing requirements, Canadians will return to the border to shop. Business owners like Josh Tweedie of the Tweedie IGAs in Presque Isle, Mars Hill and Fort Fairfield, hope the dropping of testing requirements is a sign of economic recovery in the future. Tweedie said that before the pandemic, up to 25% of sales in its stores were from Canadian visitors.
“Most of the businesses in the county really depend on this extra foot traffic because we’re in a rural area and we need the extra foot traffic that comes in here. So any little help from our Canadian friends would be a huge boost to our economy… Generally some of the biggest drivers for us with Canadian customers are dairy and poultry. There are certain items that we have, that we carry here to the United States that they don’t have… We can’t wait to see our Canadian friends and customers coming back, we missed them, it was a long time ago, he was late and we can’t wait to find them. Tweedie said.
Americans must still provide both proof of vaccination and a PCR test to enter Canada. Canadians can cross the border if they are fully vaccinated and only need to provide a PCR test if they have been away from Canada for more than 72 hours.
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