When Bruce Funk left his Whitehorse home at 8:30 a.m. Yukon time on Nov. 8, he didn’t expect cookies, hot chocolate, a band playing “O Canada,” news reporters, curious residents, a police escort, Haines Mayor Douglas Olerud and a gift basket all waiting for him at the visitor information center.

But that’s exactly what welcomed the first Canadian visitor to cross the highway into Haines in nearly two years.

The U.S. opened its land and ferry borders to fully vaccinated foreigners on Nov. 8.

Funk expected a line of cars when he got to the border station at about 10:30 a.m. Alaska...