For more than a year and a half, Canada has kept its doors closed to most non-essential foreign travellers. But that will change on Monday when the federal government opens our border to fully vaccinated Americans.
The government will also loosen several travel restrictions that apply to Canadians returning home from abroad.
Here’s what travellers can expect at the Canadian border, starting Monday.
The Americans are coming
For more than a month, fully vaccinated Canadian travellers have been allowed to skip quarantine when returning home from abroad.
In a continuation of its phased reopening of the border, starting Monday, the government will allow fully vaccinated Americans to both enter Canada and skip the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
But before eager Americans pack their bags, they should make sure they meet all requirements, said Denis Vinette, vice-president of the Canada Border Services Agency’s COVID-19 border task force.
“People need to know what their obligations are,” he said.
The next step of easing border measures begins on August 9. All travellers eligible to enter Canada must enter travel details and proof of vaccination via <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArriveCAN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ArriveCAN</a>, if they’re fully vaccinated, before entering Canada. <a href=”https://t.co/nTgbEX6CYD”>https://t.co/nTgbEX6CYD</a> <a href=”https://t.co/WKCZaVuegO”>pic.twitter.com/WKCZaVuegO</a>
First, to be considered fully vaccinated, Americans must have received all required doses of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine 14 days prior to entering Canada.
Second, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents residing in and travelling from the United States will be permitted entry.
And, just like Canadian travellers, Americans must submit their travel information — including vaccination documents — using the ArriveCAN app or by registering online within 72 hours before their arrival.
Travellers entering Canada on Monday, however, should wait until that day to submit their information, because the government is launching a new version of the app at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday.
Testing requirements
Although they get to skip quarantine, all fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada must still provide proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test taken within 72 hours of arrival.
However, come Monday, vaccinated travellers will get to skip the government-administered post-arrival COVID-19 test — unless they’re randomly selected to take it.
“It will be a mandatory random-testing regime,” said Vinette. “This surveillance program will allow us to be able to determine, based on the sampling of a pool size, what are the potential risks … in terms of travellers who’ve been vaccinated who may still be carrying COVID.”
Fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada will be able to skip the mandatory post-arrival COVID-19 test — unless they’re randomly selected to take it. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Fully vaccinated travellers who test positive for COVID-19, or who fail to meet Canada’s vaccination requirements, have two choices: They can either quarantine for 14 days or return to the country from which they departed.
“If you drove into Canada, [you can] drive back out of Canada, back into the United States,” Vinette said.
Travelling with children
Canada will also start allowing unvaccinated children under the age of 12 and travelling with fully vaccinated parents to skip quarantine as of Monday.
That rule will come as a relief to some families, because children under 12 currently can’t get vaccinated in either Canada or the U.S.
Unvaccinated children over the age of four will still be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival, plus another one eight days later. Both tests will be provided for free by the government.
WATCH | Canada to open border to vaccinated Americans by Aug. 9:
Effective Aug. 9, fully vaccinated Americans can travel to Canada without having to quarantine, rules which may extend to the rest of the world in early September. 2:32
Parents travelling with unvaccinated children are asked to make sure their children take the necessary health precautions, such as avoiding large crowds.
“They can accompany their parent or guardian out of the house to their destination, so long as they avoid group settings like summer camp, school or childcare for 14 days,” federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said at a news conference last month.
American families travelling with unvaccinated children between the ages of 12 and 17 can still enter Canada, but the children must quarantine for 14 days.
More reopenings in September
The government plans to reopen Canada’s borders to fully vaccinated travellers from all other countries on Sept. 7, but that rule and others may change if Canada gets hit with a serious fourth wave of COVID-19.
This week, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam announced that the country’s COVID-19 infections are ticking upward. Vaccinated travellers are considered low risk, she said, but the government will continue to monitor the situation.
“We’re taking a precautionary, phased approach to the border reopening,” Tam said Thursday. “If we see any significant concerns, of course, we can adjust accordingly.”
Canadian travellers should also take note that the U.S. side of the Canada-U.S. land border remains closed to non-essential travellers until at least Aug. 21. However, Canadians have been able to fly to the U.S. since the start of the pandemic.
And all unvaccinated travellers entering Canada by air come Monday will no longer have to spend part of their quarantine in a government-designated hotel. However, they still must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival and take all the required COVID-19 tests.
Finally, some provinces have provincial travel rules and restrictions in place, so travellers should check if they need to meet any local requirements when entering Canada.
Since 90 per cent of Canada’s border agents are considered essential workers, they weren’t able to walk off the job. But the workers’ two unions had warned that travellers may experience long lineups at the border due to job action, which could include CBSA agents asking travellers more questions than usual.
On Friday, several land-border crossings had wait times of more than one hour. But now that a tentative deal is on the table, border wait times may return to normal.
REGINA – Saskatchewan residents can vote early for five days starting Tuesday in the lead-up to the Oct. 28 provincial election.
Chief electoral officer Michael Boda says Voting Week is meant to make it convenient for eligible voters to cast their ballots early.
He says there are more than 880 voting locations spread across 61 ridings, open nine hours per day for the first five days and for 11 hours on election day.
Hey says more than 32,000 voters have chosen to cast their ballots by mail, down from the last election held in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boda says Elections Saskatchewan will also have mobile polls open at personal care homes for residents who aren’t able to leave their facilities.
He says there are about 810,000 registered voters in Saskatchewan.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
JASPER, ALTA. – The Alberta government has announced 250 units of interim housing for Jasper, Alta., residents displaced by a wildfire this summer.
Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon says the housing will cost the province $112 million, and the units will be rented at or near market rates.
The July wildfire destroyed one-third of the tourist town’s structures, including more than 800 units of housing.
Nixon says it’s still being determined how many of the interim housing units will be single occupancy and how many will be designed for families.
Mayor Richard Ireland says the need for housing was already an issue before the fire, but these units will help Jasper residents recover from the disaster.
Nixon says units are expected to be available in January.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
OTTAWA – A federal public inquiry into foreign interference is grappling with how to define its central issue as it begins the final week of hearings in Ottawa.
The inquiry will hear from expert panels this week on disinformation, national security and how to ensure electoral integrity.
This morning, experts talked about the challenge in differentiating between legitimate diplomatic efforts and more nefarious interference attempts.
This panel also includes the challenge of how to regulate efforts to interfere in elections without infringing on the rights to free expression.
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue is tasked with examining efforts of foreign states like China, India and Russia to interfere in the last two federal elections and in Canada’s democracy.
A final report, which will make recommendations on how to ensure electoral integrity and strengthen democratic institutions, is due by the end of the year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024
