Stanley's Blog

 I wanted to reach out to everyone with an update of what is happening up in Canada these days. Well for one….COLD!!! When I woke up this morning it was -40 straight temperature. Yikes!!

Let’s start off talking about vaccines. Canada is lagging on the vaccination front. We kind of got caught with our pants down on this one as the pandemic hit right when Canada was rebuilding several of their vaccine production facilities. Our current domestic production will not be up and running till July of this year, and that is just one of the smaller facilities anyways. The other production facilities are still 1-2 years from being operational.  All of our Pfizer vaccines are coming from Europe; however we do get our Moderna Vaccines from the US, and we have recently approved the Astra Zenaca vaccine, and the J&J vaccine is pending approval.  Pfizer and Moderna have both had supply chain issues, so Canada has received less than their promised amount for February, but the manufacturers have pressed that it will be made up for in March, and their delivery targets will be met.

With the promised allotment of vaccines, and Canada’s population of roughly 37.5 M (smaller than California), Canada has aimed for full vaccination by mid / late summer. Ontario suggests that our vaccinations can be done by July for everyone who wants one. The vaccinations have been rolling out, but they have been only in senior care homes, remote first nations communities and some health care providers for now.

Currently we are flattening our curve right now. We did see some high number after Christmas (high for us), and after some stringent lockdown measure put in place, we are seeing drops in numbers everyday. This is good news as our measures are working!

Canada has instituted some tough measures for Canadian travellers in the short term. We basically have told our airlines to cancel all flights to Mexico, Caribbean, and other warm destinations to stop the spread during winter / spring break trips. We are really trying hard to squash things up here.

We are also watching the numbers drop in the US. As the vaccine rolls out to the south, we are watching the numbers in the Midwest lower drastically too. This is also good news!

Where does this leave us for 2021? That is a tough question. I believe both the Canadian and US governments are trying to put stopping the pandemic first, and then the rest of the government business after that. I think that is why we have not heard anything from them regarding a border opening plan. The pandemic numbers on both sides need to be on a manageable level.  March and April are going to be particularly important months ahead of us. This will project how well the vaccine roll out is going in Canada, and how well our preventative measures are working across the provinces. It is with these markers that will layout any framework for the border reopening.

Do I have concerns about the border not reopening? Well after last season, I can honestly say I have learned to expect anything… I am optimistic that their will be a border reopening at sometime this season, but I do have some worries that there may not be a framework in place for those guests early in the season. (May / June). Again, this is only speculation. I am sure that any framework that involves opening the border will include showing up with a negative test taken at least 72 hours prior to arrival at the border (this is already in place now for returning Canadians). I am not sure if a vaccination would be part of the requirement for entry, but if you do get it, that is just one more box that could be checked off that may make crossing the border easier when it does open.  

I know this may not answer all your questions about your upcoming trip to Stanley’s. I want to just provide you with the most up to date information that we have available. I will increase the frequencies of these updates as information becomes available.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

On a happier note, here are a few photos from earlier this winter.