Canada's Travel Restrictions Are Set To Change This Week & Vaccine Mandates Will Be Scrapped
Passengers will no longer be expected to prove their vaccination status to travel.👇✈️
The federal government is set to announce changes to Canada's travel restrictions, with COVID-19 vaccine mandates expected to be dropped for both domestic and international travel.
On Tuesday, June 14, officials are likely to confirm an update to the existing travel rules in Canada, according to reports from CBC News and CTV News.
Per the reports, the feds will announce that COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic travel on federally-operated services like planes and trains will be suspended.
The change will also apply to outgoing international travel, but foreign nationals coming into Canada must still be fully vaccinated.
Vaccine mandates on federally-regulated travel services have been in effect since October 30, 2021. There was a brief period where travellers were able to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test rather than their vaccination status, but this has since ended.
The government has faced calls from travel industry organizations, as well as opposition parties, to drop travel-related public health measures. The pressure has been heightened in recent weeks due to delays and long lines at Canada's major airports.
CBC News reports that officials are prepared to reinstate the vaccine requirement if a new variant of COVID-19 were to become a concern in Canada.
The latest change to Canada's travel rules comes just days after the feds confirmed they would be dropping randomized COVID-19 testing at Canadian airports.
It's a temporary measure designed to speed up processing for travellers, although it will make travel easier for fully vaccinated people coming into the country too.
Travel restrictions are easing off on the American side of the border too.
On June 10, the CDC announced that pre-departure testing requirements would be dropped in the United States for fully vaccinated travellers entering the country, effective Sunday, June 12.
It means fully vaccinated passengers flying into the U.S. will no longer be required to take a COVID-19 test prior to travelling.
That said, international visitors entering the U.S. must still be prepared to prove their COVID-19 vaccination status as the Department of Homeland Security recently extended vaccine requirements.