Foothills MP John Barlow is welcoming the upcoming reopening of the Chief Mountain border crossing near Waterton Lakes National Park for the first time since it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Chief Mountain border crossing is an important crossing for southwest Alberta and a key link in the UNESCO Glacier International Peace Park,” Barlow said. “The closure of this crossing had a substantial impact on tourism, transportation and the supply chain between Alberta and Montana.”
Federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino recently announced that the Canada Border Services Agency is reinstating pre-pandemic operational hours of service at 39 land and three air ports of entry across the country.
In Alberta, in addition to Chief Mountain, Carway, Del Bonita and Wild Horse land borders will be returned to pre-pandemic operational hours along with Whetstone International Airport.
Chief Mountain is a seasonal border crossing that will be open at the following times:
• 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May 15 to May 31
• 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 1 to Labour Day
• 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. after Labour Day to Sept. 30
The crossing is closed from Oct. 1 to May 14.
“As the first of its kind in the world, the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park has been recognized as a UNESCO site and attracts thousands of international visitors each year,” said Barlow. “Many of these tourists enjoy the unique opportunity to visit the parks on each side of the Canada-United States Border and Chief Mountain is key to facilitating this experience.
“The lengthy border closing severely curtailed tourist traffic and numerous businesses and communities, including Waterton Town Site, Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass, Lundbreck and Cardston, who were all negatively impacted. In addition, First Nations communities Kainai and Piikani, home to another UNESCO site (Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump), have also been impacted by the closure.
“These areas rely heavily on the tourism industry as part of their economy and there was a great deal of concern they could lose a fourth summer tourism season if the crossing did not open, which is why I was encouraging the Liberal minister to get the border crossing back open.”
