Ontario’s Premier Wants a Tighter Border. A U.S. Senator Eyes Reopening It.

The signals from either side of the border between Canada and the United States this week could not have been more dissimilar.

put out an ad condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not closing the border as Mr. Ford again called for more restrictions. While Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, and the powerful majority leader, went to an airport near the Canadian border to say that he’s asked officials in the Biden administration to quickly “develop a transparent, bilateral and public” plan for reopening the border.

While no one appears to have anything beyond wild guesses about when the border will reopen, interest in that day appears to be increasing as a growing number of people in the United States become fully vaccinated. But several experts agree that its likely to take more than vaccinations for the return of an open border.

all travelers entering Canada must produce three negative tests results and quarantine for two weeks. Air travelers must stay in a government designated hotel for up to three nights to await the results of their arrival tests as part of their 14-day quarantine.

The result has been dramatic. Bill Blair, the public safety minister, said this week that international air traffic entries are down by 96 percent at airports and land border crossings have fallen 82 percent. Federal officials told me that the majority of nonessential travelers are returning Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have a constitutional right to re-enter.

Trans Canada

Credit…via Theatre Calgary

Sharon Pollock, the Calgary playwright best known for works based on Canadian historical events, has died at the age of 85. “In her plays, she provided multiple perspectives on historical events,” Anne Nothof, a professor emerita at Athabasca University in Alberta told The Times. “Pollock was committed to creating a theater that responded to the past and the present, that challenged historical and personal assumptions.”

Researchers at University of Waterloo, Lakehead University and Trent University have identified the remains of a sailor from the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition and used DNA collected from a living descendant to reconstruct his facial image.

Canada is not alone when it comes to having vaccines held up because of problems at a troubled plant in Baltimore.

After starting their season in Florida, the Toronto Blue Jays will move north but not quite far enough north to return to their hometown.

Connor McDavid is only 24 but the Edmonton Oilers player is on a run. He’s closing in on a 100-point season, something few thought possible with the N.H.L.’s pandemic-reduced schedule.

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for the past 16 years. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten.