Canada Fully Reopens Border To Vaccinated Travelers

The Canadian Border Services Agency announced on August 9 that it will soon open its borders to fully vaccinated foreign nationals.

Starting the day of the announcement, U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States who were currently residing in and arriving from the United States, and who qualified for the fully vaccinated traveler exemption, could enter Canada. All other foreign nationals who qualify for the fully vaccinated traveler exemption can enter the country starting September 7, 2021.

The Canadian government also said fully-vaccinated travelers are no longer required to book a three-night hotel stopover when entering Canada.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, the United States did not reciprocate. “Although Canadians can continue to fly to the U.S. for nonessential purposes, as they have been permitted to do throughout the pandemic, they are not allowed to cross at the land border,” The Journal said.

The plan to reopen the border were not the only travel-related announcement the Canadian government made last week. Officials announced on Friday, August 13 that they will require all commercial air travelers and passengers on cruise ships and interprovincial trains to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said, “We need to regain public confidence in travel. Such confidence will give a boost to our industry.”

Read more from Bloomberg about this announcement.