The Canadian government announced today, March 17 that travelers entering Canada by air, land or water will no longer need to present a negative Covid-19 test. The high rate of vaccinations in Canada, the use of rapid tests to detect infection and lower rates of hospitalizations were cited as some of the reasons behind the relaxation of rules.
Travelers will still need to show proof of vaccination and tests will continue to be given to travelers at random. For travelers to currently enter the country, they must show proof of vaccination and proof of a negative antigen test taken within 24 hours or molecular test taken within 72 hours. The test requirement ends at 12:01 p.m. on April 1.
“After a challenging two years, we all want the Canadian economy, including the tourism sector, to rebound and grow. We in government have been listening to the concerns of tourism businesses across the country. We are confident that, thanks to all that Canadians have done to protect one another, we can now take the next step forward and remove testing requirements for fully vaccinated travelers entering Canada. The economy, workers and tourism business owners will benefit from this next step in opening Canada up once again to the world," said Canadian tourism minister Randy Boissonnault.
Rules will not change for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers.
“I hope this isn’t an April Fool’s joke,” local immigration attorney Len Saunders said. Saunders has not traveled to Canada since the border was closed in 2020.
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