Canada on Monday said it would start allowing fully vaccinated U.S. visitors into the country on Aug. 9 for non-essential travel, relaxing a 16-month ban that businesses complained was crippling them.
Inoculated visitors from countries other than the United States will be permitted to enter beginning on Sept. 7. The relaxation depends on Canada’s COVID-19 epidemiology remaining favorable, officials said.
“With rising vaccination rates and fewer cases in
Canada, we can begin to safely ease border measures,” Health Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters.
Businesses in both nations, particularly the travel and airline industries, had demanded an end to restrictions on non-essential travel between Canada and the United States which were imposed in March 2020.
“This will be good for our economy … we welcome the direction and are counting on successful implementation,” said Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada.
The United States and Canada have until now extended the restrictions every month.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to say whether the United States would follow Canada’s lead.
“We are continuing to review our travel decisions and we’ll be guided by our public health and medical experts … I wouldn’t look at it through a reciprocal intention,” she told a briefing when asked about Canada’s move.
People eligible to enter Canada must have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days beforehand. From Aug. 9, Ottawa is also lifting the requirement that all travelers arriving by air must spend three nights in a hotel.
The government repeated that Canadians should avoid non-essential travel abroad.
The news should be a boost for Canada’s hard-hit airlines which have recovered more slowly from the pandemic than their U.S. counterparts.
Shares in Air Canada – the nation’s largest airline – were trading down 3% in Toronto on Monday amid a broader decline.
Canada’s second-largest carrier, WestJet Airlines, said it was operating at 60% capacity in July compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
(Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Allison Lampert in Montreal;Editing by Paul Simao and Cynthia Osterman)
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
