Jason Kenney Asks Trudeau To Relax U.S. Border Restrictions For NHL

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is making another plea to Justin Trudeau s federal government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But rather than asking for support for the oil and gas industry , building a pipeline or cleaning up orphan wells , this time its about hockey. Specifically, for support to help Edmonton become one of two hosts cities for the NHL playoffs.

Earlier this week, the league released a short list of 12 possible hub cities . Three Canadian locations made the list: Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.

In a letter to Trudeau Wednesday, Kenney asked the feds to ease restrictions on the U.S. border specifically so Edmonton can become the hockey utopia its always wanted to be.

Ive written to the PM requesting that the Govt of Canada put in place similar measures to those from the US govt to facilitate @NHL playoffs.

Such measures, paired with Edmontons ideal facilities and Albertas rigorous health protocols, would safely make hockey possible here. pic.twitter.com/Gsk7tP3NUr

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Ive written to the PM requesting that the Govt of Canada put in place similar measures to those from the US govt to facilitate @NHL playoffs.

Such measures, paired with Edmontons ideal facilities and Albertas rigorous health protocols, would safely make hockey possible here. pic.twitter.com/Gsk7tP3NUr
Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 27, 2020

On May 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a special exemption to enable certain professional athletes and staff to enter the country. In the letter, Kenney asked Trudeau to adopt a similar policy.

The Government of Alberta believes there are effective strategies in place to mitigate any risk for our province if such an exemption were granted, he wrote.

This isnt the first push for Edmonton to host NHL games since the pandemic began. As soon as the concept of hub cities was announced, Edmonton was targeted as an NHL city with relatively low case rates compared to other locales across Canada and the U.S.

While the initial wave of COVID-19 cases in Alberta continues, thats largely been due to outbreaks in Calgary and southern Alberta. In terms of test-positive cases, Edmonton has reported only eight new cases in the month of May.