The Canadian border will reopen to U.S. citizens for non-essential reasons on August 9.
They must be fully vaccinated at least fourteen days prior to arriving.
They will have to submit proof of vaccination in advance through the ArriveCAN app.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says they won’t need to quarantine.
“Starting August 9th, we will shift to mandatory randomized testing for fully vaccinated travellers. So only those that have been randomly selected will need to complete a day one test,” says Hadju.
Children under 12 who are not vaccinated will also be allowed if they’re accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.
They will have to stay away from schools, daycares and summer programs for two weeks.
Entry to Canada will continue to be off-limits for U.S. travellers who are not fully vaccinated and for all other foreign nationals unless they already meet certain exemptions.
Canada has faced a lot of pressure from both sides of the border to ease restrictions. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair defends the time they’ve taken.
“We recognize that people are anxious for the border to reopen but from the outset, we have taken a cautious and careful approach, and we will always put the health and safety of Canadians first,” says Blair.
While Canada’s border opens somewhat, travel to the U.S. by Canadians remains restricted.
Blair says U.S. officials we spoke with recently anticipate their measures will likely continue beyond this Wednesday.
“They anticipate their curb measures will likely be rolled over on July 21. They are obviously considering additional measures and data, but at the present time, they have not indicated a plan to make any changes,” notes Blair.
Meantime, non-essential travel to Canada remains prohibited until the change on August 9.
