Remain in Canada or Leave for the United States? Canadian Snowbirds are Divided

The coronavirus pandemic entirely changed the world we live in. Restrictions, lockdown, unemployment have resulted in a massive shift in life. Almost every country in the world felt the devastating impact that Covid-19 brought to us.

The pandemic changed travel for citizens. Countries closed borders and tourism literally crashed. This especially became a problem for countries, whose economy is strongly dependent on tourism.

Canada and the United States both suffered from the pandemic. The latter leads the world with a number of infected people and total deaths. The travel between these countries has been restricted since March.

Restrictions affected Canadian snowbirds (a person who migrates from the colder northern parts of North America to warmer southern states, typically during the winter). They were divided into two groups: the first group wanted to remain in Canada and the second group wanted to go to Florida.

What are the reasons?

Generally, the snowbirds who live in the northern part of Canada do not want to spend their holidays in the harsh winter and prefer going to warm states. That’s why they chose Florida, and not for the first time either. In 2020 over 3.5 million people visited the state from Canada.

Besides a warm and nice climate, there is also another reason. Florida is rich in casinos. It’s safe to say that they’re the second biggest attraction after the beaches.

For the snowbirds, finding reliable Canadian casinos online could be difficult because of the regulations that the country imposes on online gambling. So Florida was the perfect place for them to go to. Keep warm and keep fun. It was a win-win situation.

Furthermore, it is like a tradition to visit Florida. Even though the border is closed the US side declared willingness to welcome northerners. The country is allowing Canadians who fly even for non-essential travel.

Tough to live in such a situation

Some snowbirds do not have a permanent home and migrate from Canada to Florida for many years. A lot of them are saying that they want to live their life to the fullest and the coronavirus pandemic deprives them of all possibilities. It is hard not to agree with them because Covid-19 has made life tough for everyone.

Florida is one of the most affected states in the United States. It has reported more than twice as many cases as Canada, about 1.2 million, even though it has a population that is only a little over half the size.

Canadian politicians ignoring the pandemic

While we are talking about travel restrictions it should be noted that some Canadian politicians are neglecting the rules and were caught on vacation or on a trip abroad.

The current federal public health guidance states that Canadians should avoid all inconsequential travel outside Of Canada. The same information was repeatedly repeated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and health authorities in public briefings.

Moreover, before the Christmas holidays, the government warned Canadians that they could “get stuck” abroad because of the unstable situation with flights during the pandemic.

However, the politicians themselves do not follow these recommendations and go abroad for vacations or face-to-face meetings.

For example, the liberal politician Pierre Arcand was subjected to public anger when it was revealed that he was holidaying in Barbados. The Liberal leader of Quebec, Dominique Anglade, claims that she tried to dissuade him from the trip, but was unsuccessful.

Another member of the National Assembly, Youri Chassin, went on vacation in Peru. His party issued a statement saying the trip was planned to complete immigration procedures for his wife, whom he had not seen for a year.

How is the Covid situation in Canada?

A record number of new types of coronavirus infections have been detected in the Canadian provinces of Canada and Ontario at the end of December, according to the press service of the Ministry of Health of Canada.

In particular, 2,923 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were confirmed in Ontario on 30 December. This is a record number of patients detected per day since the beginning of the pandemic. A total of 178,831 cases of a new type of coronavirus have been confirmed in the province.

2,511 SARS-CoV-2 carriers have been detected in the past 24 hours, which is also a record since the beginning of the pandemic. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus infection to 199,822 in the province of Quebec.

Across Canada, over 600,000 SARS-CoV-2 infections have been confirmed since the pandemic began. The victims of COVID-19 complications in Canada are more than 15,000.

Canada has already started its vaccination, however, there are fears that the process might be complicated over slow rollout. And it is a problem in other countries as well.

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