Our tenant comes down every month for about half the month for work and the US and Canada are making it very very difficult to cross the border. They are not going to be coming down anytime soon again. Do we let the tenant out of the lease that still has around 8 months left on it? Any other suggestions on how to deal with the situation?

Hold them to the lease. It's not your fault they can't cross. 

In my lease, they would have to give 30 days written notice, pay an early termination fee equal to one month of rent, and allow me to show the rental and try to find replacement tenants. The other option is that they remain on the hook until a replacement tenant is found.

Your situation is unique because they probably have furniture in the unit. I would just talk to them and see what you can work out. They should definitely remain responsible until a new tenant can take over.

Thanks for getting back to me on that one Nathan! That definitely helped me with my discussions with the tenant!