alberta ontario

There are now calls for Ontario to close its borders to people living in Alberta

With case counts staying relatively low and more than 80 per cent of adults now at least partially-vaccinated against COVID-19, Ontario seems to be in a good place right now — and nobody wants to see that get messed up, least of all by Albertans.

Concern is growing among residents of Ontario (and presumably other provinces) as the "Texas of Canada" decides to lift pretty much all COVID-19 public health restrictions despite a looming fourth wave.

As of yesterday, close contacts of confirmed cases in Alberta are no longer required to quarantine. They won't even be notified by contact tracers if they happen to be exposed.

Starting August 16, people who test positive don't have to isolate (though it's "strongly recommended" that they do), and masks will no longer be required in schools or on public transit vehicles.

Asymptomatic testing and isolation hotels are being scrapped. Beginning on August 31, testing for the virus will in fact only be available to patients with severe symptoms requiring medical attention.

Meanwhile, Alberta's seven-day average for new infections (142) has more than doubled over the past six days and the province still lags behind most other regions in Canada for vaccinations.

Some Albertans are protesting against the lifting of public health measures and here in Ontario, watching from afar, many people have a hard time understanding the logic behind what Jason Kenney has signed off on.

Whatever the case, Toronto doesn't want to catch cooties from Calgary... and to be fair, Calgary doesn't want cooties to begin with.

As news of Alberta's relaxing restrictions spreads across the country, people in Ontario are starting to call upon the provincial government to close off our borders to anyone from that province.

"Doug Ford had better ban all flight from Alberta as well as close our western border to all vehicles with Alberta plates," wrote one Ontarian on Twitter this week. "If Kenney wants to be so utterly stupid, Ontario need not be!"

"Serious question: Why isn't the premier of Ontario closing Ontario's borders to Alberta?" asked another on Thursday in a tweet that has recieved nearly 2,000 likes.

Premier Doug Ford has yet to publicly address the idea of closing air and land borders to Albertans, but did answer a question about what he thought of the western province's relaxing of restrictions during a press conference in Toronto on Friday.

"You know, that's up to Premier Kenney to decide," said Ford. "We're going to stay vigilant here."

Lead photo by

John McArthur


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