'I'm keeping my fingers crossed': N.B. tourism hotspot banks on the Atlantic Bubble this summer
News of a possible Atlantic Bubble by July 1 has the tourism hotspot of Shediac, N.B. hoping for the best this summer.
With loosened restrictions, locals are feeling cautiously optimistic.
Denise LeBlanc has been running the Shediac Bay Cruises for the last 13 years.
"It’s a big question mark," says LeBlanc. "Last summer was a bit of a disaster for us because we lost about 85 per cent of our revenues.”
With the possibility of the Atlantic bubble reinflating in July, there's hope a lot more tourists will arrive this summer.
“You can’t hire people and then not have them work, so that’s one of the big challenges that we face at this time. We’re just hoping for the best I guess," LeBlanc says.
An uncertain summer for a town that relies so heavily on visitors from out of province.
"Mostly Quebecers book at our place and this summer we expect that we will have a terrific season at the restaurant and hopefully we can get back some momentum for the bed and breakfast," says Sébastien Després, owner of restaurant Le Moque-Tortue.
A year into the pandemic, many businesses are trying to make up for lost time.
"If they do open up the borders, then we hope it's in a safe way we hope that we can keep doing business and not risk a shutdown mid-season," says Després
Vaccine rollout is well on track in New Brunswick, meaning the province is inching closer to a more 'normal' summer.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed because look, we want the end to the pandemic, the sooner the better," says Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie. "It'll help our businesses and our community."
It's a reason for optimism in hopes that warmer and busier days are ahead.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.