The Canadian government confirmed today that they would be suspending vaccination mandates for travel. This update will now allow unvaccinated travellers to board trains or planes for domestic and outbound international travel.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier, and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement today. These rules will take effect on June 20, 2022.
Watch the full update below:
What is changing?
This change allows unvaccinated Canadians to travel to both domestic or international locations. All travellers will still be required to abide by other country’s entry requirements. This could potentially limit the destinations unvaccinated travellers will be able to visit. The United States and many other countries continue to require proof of vaccination upon entry.
Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to follow the current testing and quarantine requirements upon re-entry from international destinations. Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning from destinations abroad will still to be required to provide proof of a negative molecular test, such as a PCR test taken within 72 hours of their scheduled flight or land entry into Canada.
Unvaccinated travellers will also be subject to a COVID-19 test on arrival. Upon arrival, unvaccinated travellers must also quarantine for 14 days and take another COVID-19 test on day 8 of quarantine.
Government officials also noted that they would not hesitate to reinstate vaccine mandates at any time. Should a new variant of concern emerge or cases begin to rise, we could see vaccines for travel become mandatory once again.
Foreign nationals entering Canada are still required to be vaccinated under the new rules.
Masks continue to be mandatory on planes and trains. All travellers entering Canada are also still be required to complete the mandatory ArriveCAN forms within 72 hours before arrival in Canada.
Vaccines will remain a requirement for all cruise travel within Canada. A government official notes “Given the unique nature of cruise ships, including the fact that passengers are in close contact with each other for extended periods of time, vaccination against COVID-19 is still required for passengers and crew on cruise ships.”
More information
For more information, please refer to the government of Canada website.
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