Canada Drops Vaccine Requirements, Visitors No Longer Need To Quarantine

After two years Canada is finally allowing Americans who are unvaccinated into the country without quarantining. And making it simpler for vaccinated travelers as well.

On September 30th Canada will lift its vaccine requirements for visitors. Also on September 30th, Canada will end random COVID arrival tests and make it optional for visitors to use the ArriveCan app. However, everyone will be required to continue to wear masks on planes to and from Canada as well as public transportation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been under pressure by voters and politicians to lift restrictions. The opposing party’s Pierre Poilivere has been campaigning for Canada to drop the ArriveCan app and lift all COVID restrictions.

Since March of 2020, the U.S.-Canada border has been shut down since the start of the pandemic. In August 2021 Canada reopened its border but Canada’s restrictions and enforcement had many differences from the United States’ policies.

The U.S. and Canada both require foreign visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. However, Canada will allow unvaccinated travelers to enter the country under the requirement that the visitor must quarantine for 14 days. At the moment, foreign travelers that are vaccinated must upload their COVID-19 documentation through the ArriveCan app before entering Canada.

Canadian and U.S. officials have petitioned Trudeau and Biden to lift border restrictions and restore their policies to a pre-pandemic state.  Also, current restrictions are hurting the economies of those communities along the borders.

There is also push from business leaders and government officials in the United States to lift COVID-19 restrictions. As the restrictions are also affecting local economies and communities in the U.S. as well. Only time will tell if the U.S. will follow in Canada’s lead to restore policies to pre-pandemic times.