Canada is poised to drop travel testing requirements for vaccinated travellers effective April 1, according to a source in the federal government. An official announcement from Ottawa is expected today (March 17).

The news that a negative COVID-19 will no longer be necessary removes a major obstacle for vaccinated travellers, many of whom fear having to quarantine abroad if they test positive; or are put off by the sometimes-troublesome logistics and significant costs of having to test in a foreign country.

Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, which has been lobbying relentlessly for removal of the test, says the news is welcome and comes just in time for the tourism season.

“We’ve seen the collapse of our international tourism and convention business over the course of the last two years and were on the cusp of losing the summer tourist season as well,” Beatty said.

For the outbound industry, it’s too late for March Break, but comes ahead of Easter and with some time left in the Sun season.

Beatty said anything the government can do to remove friction at the border will help convince people to come to Canada rather than go elsewhere.

It’ll also make it easier for Canadians to return home after an international getaway this spring or summer.

In February, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced travellers coming to Canada would be able to present a negative rapid-antigen test at the border as an alternative to a more costly and time-consuming molecular test.

At the time, he said he would consider easing COVID-19 travel restrictions further if the epidemiological situation continued to improve, hospitalizations diminished, and Canadians continued to get their booster shots.

He also said the government would move away from stiff restrictions now that Canada has more tools to deal with the pandemic.

“These tools include the strong surveillance system, a highly vaccinated population, continued access to vaccines, access to therapeutics both in and outside our hospital system and increasing access to rapid tests,” Duclos said on Feb. 15.

While the United Kingdom announced plans to drop all COVID-19 restrictions on travel, including a vaccine requirement, the US and Australia still require a negative COVID-19 test to enter their countries.

While Canada’s handle on COVID-19 cases has been improving over the last several weeks, the World Health Organization says rates have begun to creep up in Europe and other parts of the world. The global weekly case count is trending up by 8%, according to the WHO’s latest update, while case counts in the Americas have declined by 20%. The highest numbers of new cases were reported from the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Germany, Netherlands, and France.

Beatty said the government has been reactive in the past when it comes scaling restrictions up and down as COVID-19 waves have come and gone over the last two years.

He hopes to see the government prepare for the fall, in case COVID-19 picks up again, so Canada can handle it without stiff restrictions and lockdowns.

Earlier this week, an Angus Reid-CBC polled reported that 70% of Canadians still believe that mandatory vaccinations should be required for international travel (including travel to the US), while 61% support mandatory COVID testing to travel internationally.

At the same time, nearly 70% who said they had been refraining from travel due to Canadian restrictions would do so again when they are lifted.