Canada’s travel industry is applauding the official news that all COVID-19 border restrictions will be removed as of Saturday, including mandatory vaccination, testing and quarantine of international travellers, as well as the requirement for masks on planes and trains. The latter provision had been unknown until the announcement yesterday, even as weekend reports suggested all other measures would be dropped Monday.

The changes mean foreign nationals will no longer require an approved series of vaccinations to enter the country.

In addition, Canada-bound travellers will no longer be subject to random COVID-19 tests, and unvaccinated Canadians will not need to isolate when they return to the country. Cruise passengers will not have to do pre-board tests or prove they have been vaccinated.

And people who enter the country after Saturday will not need to monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19. However, travellers are still instructed not to travel when sick and travellers who become sick enroute or when they arrive in Canada should flag a flight attendant, cruise staff, or a border services officer.

Logistically, the cabinet order maintaining COVID-19 border measures will simply not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30. However, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos warned that pandemic restrictions could be reinstated if they are needed.

“We have learned over the last (two-and-a-half) years the type of measures that can work,” Duclos said. “We will therefore leave open all possible options when it comes to protecting the health and safety of Canadians.”

“There was a sense that these border measures were no longer effective, or no longer justified in the circumstance that we’re in right now,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Parliament Hill on Monday. He added that the best way to fend off the possibility of reinstating border restrictions is for people to get their COVID-19 booster shots.

The five federal ministers making the announcement said the changes are informed by science and epidemiology, adding that modelling indicates the peak of the latest wave of the disease has “largely passed,” however the Public Health Agency of Canada is still strongly recommending that people wear masks, particularly in crowded environments such as planes and trains.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said there have been 38 million entries at the border in 2022 so far, more than double the number in all of last year and added, “We want to keep that momentum going.”

Among those applauding the decision was the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, a coalition of travel industry organizations that has long been leading the calls to drop border restrictions and, which now says it want to “encourage the federal government to follow the science and avoid using these tactics in the future.”

“For many months, we have been unequivocal in calling on the federal government to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on travel and ensure Canada’s global competitiveness in tourism,” added Beth Potter, President & CEO of TIAC, the national association that represents thousands of tourism businesses across the country. “We are heartened the Government of Canada has heeded our calls, after two long, difficult, and devastating years for our industry. We are now focused on rebuilding tourism back to the $105-billion economic powerhouse it was pre-pandemic.”

Air Canada VP and COO Craig Landry said removing the restrictions “will greatly facilitate travel, help to continue stabilizing the country’s air transport sector, and support Canada’s economy,” while Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO at Vancouver Airport Authority, added, “The removal of COVID-19 travel measures will improve passengers’ overall travel experience, assist our frontline employees, and allow more people to reconnect with loved ones and tourism experiences across the province and country.”

On the cruise side, Princess Cruises president John Padgett said, “We applaud these decisions by Transport Canada to make visiting the country easier and more convenient for all guests sailing our popular Alaska and Canada/New England itineraries… and we look forward to welcoming everyone who’s waited the past three years for this market to fully open.”

ArriveCan

As for ArriveCan, the controversial app will no longer be mandatory when the order expires.

“Going forward, use of ArriveCan will be optional, allowing travellers who so choose to submit their customs declaration in advance at major airports,” Mendicino said. So far that option is available at international airports in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, but that will be expanded to include Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City, Halifax and Billy Bishop airport in Toronto.

In addition, the Canada Border Services Agency is looking at adding features to ArriveCan to be able to provide information such as border wait times.