Border experts and political observers say the US-Mexico border likely has a lot to do with why President Joe Biden is dragging his heels on reopening the frontier with Canada. The southern border represents a much larger political challenge in the US than the northern one, and some in the Biden administration reportedly fear blowback if one opens before the other.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions on visitors from the US have always been more stringent than they are going in the other direction, noting that throughout the pandemic, it has been easier for Canadians to visit the US than it has been for Americans to travel to Canada – particularly by air.

Canada announced Monday that as of Aug. 9, fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to enter the country, with the rest of the world to follow Sept. 7. But many were surprised that rules for Canadians entering the US at the land border, remain unchanged.

The lack of reciprocation has already prompted US lawmakers anxious to see the travel restrictions eased further to begin pressuring the White House to follow Canada’s lead.

“Our countries took different approaches, certainly during the beginning of the pandemic,” Trudeau told a news conference Tuesday in Hamilton – a rare acknowledgment from a government that has long promoted its close working relationship with the US.

“They will follow their science, they will make their own decisions, and we will work with them to make sure that we’re co-ordinating as best as possible,” he said. “But Canada is not going to any more dictate what the US should be doing around its border policy than we would accept the US to dictate to us around our border policy.”

The Canadian American Business Council has been lobbying for a reciprocal deal that would see the US open its land border simultaneously with Canada. Chief executive Scotty Greenwood says the US is expected to announce its decision today (Wednesday), when the existing cross-border ban on non-essential travel is due to expire if it is not renewed.

The land border between Canada and the U.S. has been closed to non-essential travel since March 21, 2020. The closure order has been extended every 30 days since then.