The Nova Scotia border Entrance from New Brunswick. Photo: Nova Scotia Government
Seasonal travelers have never been restricted from entering the province, according to Premier Stephen McNeil.
Seasonal travelers refer to people who own property in a Canadian province, but their primary residence is in another province or country.
Prince Edward Island announced this week that they would be opening their borders to seasonal travelers . They estimate there are 2,300 properties owned by them.
This decision was met with backlash from some residents who have started an online petition on Thursday that now has over 4,000 signatures.
Premier McNeil was asked if Nova Scotia was considering a similar plan, but he says Nova Scotias current rules means that’s not necessary.
“People could always enter Nova Scotia, they were just required to isolate for 14-day, so people who own property here would have been able to acess it,” McNeil said.
The problem with that system is both New Brunswick and PEI’s borders were closed, meaning if someone came to Nova Scotia to visit their property they would not have been able to return to their permanent residence.
Allowing seasonal travelers into PEI will also provide an opportunity to learn important lessons in reopening travel.
“In their case (PEI) they will have a lot of seasonal travelers visiting so in a way it will be soft-open that they and the rest of Atlantic Canada can use it to help guide our strategies,” McNeil said.
He did say that all of the Atlantic provinces are working on a strategy together to reopen borders but it will not be done so until the pandemic is under control.
