On 8 November, the US-Canadian border will open both ways to non-essential travel for the first time in 19 months. The closure has kept thousands of bi-national families split throughout the pandemic.

In March 2020, Jaslyn Declercq and her partner, Thomas Musgraves, began to plan their wedding.

The relationship had been a long-distance whirlwind after the pair met in an online chat room in 2017.

One year to the day on from their first conversation online - both Valentine's Day and Mr Musgraves' birthday - Ms Declercq drove four hours from her home in Tillsonburg, in southern Ontario, to Carey, Ohio to surprise Mr Musgraves and meet him in person for the first time. Two months and a handful of visits later, Ms Declercq became pregnant with their daughter, Maddie.

For almost two years, Ms Declerq made the drive to Ohio twice a month and the pair began to sketch out their plans for the future - marriage and Mr Musgraves' move to Canada.

Then, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US and Canada announced they would shut their shared land border to all non-essential travel. It threw an unwelcome block right in the middle of their 270 mile (434 km) commute but the couple wasn't overly concerned.

"We thought OK, it's going to suck, but it's only 30 days," said Ms Declerq, a 32-year-old mother of five. "We can do 30 days."

But that original month-long travel ban would be extended 18 more times, becoming the longest border restriction in both countries shared history. On Monday these restrictions will finally be lifted, allowing the reunion of thousands of families like Ms Declercq's.

Beginning on 8 November, the US will allow vaccinated travellers to cross the US-Canadian land border, following a similar move by Canada in August. A few days after the reopening, Ms Declerq and Maddie will drive down to Ohio to see Mr Musgraves.