The Council of Atlantic Premiers have decided to suspend discussions surrounding the potential reopening of the Atlantic Bubble.

Premier Blaine Higgs recently chaired a teleconference of the council to discuss COVID-19 outbreaks now under way within the region.

The Atlantic premiers agreed that recent outbreaks of COVID-19, accelerated by emerging variants of concern, have made it necessary to maintain restrictions on non-essential travel within the Atlantic region. The premiers will revisit the re-opening of the Atlantic Travel Bubble when the threat of further outbreaks has been reduced, based on advice from the region’s Chief Medical Officers of Health.

The premiers remain optimistic that travel within Atlantic Canada will resume by summer, when most Atlantic Canadians have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine rollout will help provide protection against COVID-19, and Atlantic Premiers strongly encourage Atlantic Canadians to continue to get vaccinated.