Is it safe to book a trip for next summer ?

I am not really gonna book a trip yet... But I will have the calendar out in January and will be booking a trip for August to Ontario... 

Do you think we will be ok to cross the border by then ? 

I would caution each & every one of you to only book a trip if the outfitter/lodge, IN WRITING, states that if the border is not open before your booking, you have the option to have your money refunded or rolled over to next year (2022) PERIOD! Way too many scams out there right now!

First off, I would not book anything at this time. 2nd, if you do book, don't book with any outfitter/lodge who would not put, IN WRITING, that if the border is not opened before your booking date, your money is either refunded, or turned over to next year's booking, your choice. There are going to be WAY too many scams out there, so I just caution anyone in advance.

I wouldn't get your hopes up.  Government is still saying September before they get through distributing vaccinations here, and absolutely nothing will happen before then.

2022

I am hoping for May. If it’s open sooner I’ll be there but I’m not very optimistic. We had six or seven trips planned to our cabin last year and had to cancel everyone. We are not even allowed to go there to check on our property. The vaccine should be a game changer so hopefully the next few months things start to take a turn for the better 

Feel your pain Tim. I've canceled 2 trips to Big W myself. 

I hope so.  I go to Lake Winnipeg Ice fishing 3 times a year.  Between last March this coming February, we have already cancelled 3 trips.  Have yet to cancel our upcomingf March trip, keeping our fingers crossed!!

Tim-A........regarding your comment that you hope the Canadian government was subsidizing the resorts, that would be a big no. Cousin owes a large resort in NW Ontario, and all they were offered was low interest loans to ride this out. Gov told them to rely on Canadian tourists in 2020....that accounts for almost 0% of their business.  The NW-Ontario resort owners got together and made a video begging for help earlier this year. There are going to be lots of outfits going belly up before next season.  Better be very careful where you send money.

Trudeau must really dislike the resort industry.  I hope they are subsidizing the resorts somehow.  If you have a mortgage on your resort you must be in big trouble.  I know the one we have gone to in the past changed hands last year.  

If I could predict the future, I would buy a PowerBall ticket rather than predict when the border is going to open.  I have to agree with a few people who have posted previously.  This is going to come down to the following:

- Does Canada find an the number of covid patients infected in the US are acceptable.

- Is the Canadian health care system doing well with hospital staffing and beds.

- How successful the vaccine rollout and immunization rates are for the two countries. 

However, I do believe whenever the border reopens it is going to be a zoo.  So many trips that were booked in 2020 will roll over to 2021 and even 2022.  I know a lot of guys in the US are upset they lost a deposit, but are glad they could more than likely rebook their trip.  So when you add the rebooks with new bookings, it is going to be a zoo.

Rob S.

A lot of the camps will be in real trouble if they have to shut down this year as well, but right now that's how it looks.

News over the weekend was new case numbers still climbing in most parts of Canada and the US. This isn't going away any time soon.

Lets say border opens.Most camps will have already full weeks with all the roll overs going on.There would be the odd camp that might have a week open here and there and woukd have to check around to see which ones.There's 5 1/2 months till opener.Iam sure there will be a plan to get paying tourists up here. Vaccines,rapid tests and prove of you itinerary might be a way in.Not going to open for cross border shopping or anything like that.Thats what iam hoping for anyways. Don't think the tourist business could take another year of shutdown.

Canadian here. Not a chance the border will open for summer 2021. 

Trudeau has already said it's not going to happen until we've seen a couple months of covid truly being under control in both countries. Right now the timetable is for most of Canada to be vaccinated by September. Add a couple more months for things to stabilize, and it's 2022 before any realistic chance of the border re-opening.

Not what anyone wants to hear, but that's how it looks.

Here's one US take on it: https://www.twincities.com/2020/11/27/canadian-border-unlikely-to-reopen-anytime-soon/ 

I wouldn't be surprised to see the border closed through 2022. I also wouldn't be surprised if you have to show proof of a covid vaccine to cross whenever the crossing opens. I also wonder how the Canucks can so easily shut there border down hard but it seems so very difficult to close our southern border the same way. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

If you buy your trip in January we will probably hear a big sad story about how your deposit was not treated fairly by July. 

Good luck