Great news today from the Government of Canada that sees the current travel restrictions for returning to Canada being eased. As of July 6th (well 11:59pm ET on July 5) Canadians who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival and this includes the stay at a government authorized hotel. All other re-entry requirements do remain in place which means you’ll need to have a negative COVID test prior to returning and you’ll have to test upon arrival as well.
Here are the main details from today’s press release:
To be considered fully vaccinated, a traveller must have received the full series of a vaccine — or combination of vaccines — accepted by the Government of Canada
at least 14 days prior to entering Canada. Currently, those vaccines
are manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen
(Johnson & Johnson). Travellers can receive their vaccine in any
country, and must provide documentation supporting their vaccination in
English, French or with a certified translation.For these new measures to apply to them, fully vaccinated travellers
must still meet all other mandatory requirements, including pre- and
on-arrival testing. Continued testing will allow public health experts
to keep monitoring positivity rates at the border, monitor for variants
of concern, and make further adjustments to border measures as needed.Fully vaccinated travellers must also be asymptomatic, have a paper
or digital copy of their vaccination documentation, and provide
COVID-19-related information electronically through ArriveCAN prior to
arrival in Canada. They must still present a suitable quarantine plan,
and be prepared to quarantine, in case it is determined at the border
that they do not meet all of the conditions required to be exempt from
quarantine. As with all other exempt travellers, they will be required
to follow public health measures in place, such as wearing a mask when
in public, keep a copy of their vaccine and test results, as well as a
list of close contacts for 14 days after entry to Canada.For travellers who are not fully vaccinated, there
are no changes to Canada’s current border measures. They must continue
to adhere to the current testing and federal quarantine requirements,
which have been effective in reducing importation and transmission of
COVID-19 and variants in Canada, and provide COVID-19-related
information electronically through ArriveCAN before arriving in Canada.
Unvaccinated air travellers must also book a three-night stay at a
government-authorized hotel before their departure to Canada.
As you can see the changes only apply to those who are fully vaccinated, if you are not you have to follow all of the current restrictions that are in place. Remember as well that right now the border between Canada and the U.S. is still technically closed for non-essential travel but I would assume with this announcement that may change – at least for those who are fully vaccinated.