Circle August 9 on your calendar for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the U.S. to come to Canada without a quarantine. Those who fall short of being fully vaccinated will quarantine for 14 days.
We would love to dance and celebrate by spending time in Canada. Let's go through some of the potential hazards.
The CBC News article touting the news says the following:
"Those crossing the border still need to get a COVID-19 molecular test result before they arrive in Canada."
"However, the government announced today that it plans to launch a new surveillance program at airports and land border crossings starting Aug. 9. Fully vaccinated individuals will not need a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected to complete a COVID-19 molecular test."
Technically a contradiction but clarifies that the policy is changing. The same article also notes this:
"All travellers must use the government's ArriveCAN portal to submit their information. If they meet the government's criteria, they will not have to quarantine upon arrival in Canada."
In other words, you can plan a trip to Canada but still be denied a quarantine-free stay.
If you are planning to fly into Canada on August 9, international flights had been limited to Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, and Vancouver. The good news is you can add Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Winnipeg to the list. That list could get longer; check with Transport Canada to make sure about your destination. Presumably, if you land in Toronto via Porter Airlines as an example, flying domestically to Moncton or St. John's would fall under a domestic flight once you are on Canadian soil.
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The Canadian plan is to allow fully vaccinated travelers from everywhere else on September 7. The transition might be a bit smoother for that second deadline.
We do think if you present legitimate evidence of vaccinations, while you might get a harder time, they will let you into Canada. Entering a country is never a guarantee but this feels a little less sure than the usual patterns.
My vision has been on the first day of eligibility, cross over into Windsor and spend the day eating and buying ketchup chips, just being on Canadian soil. Well, August 9 is a Monday and several places, if still open after the pandemic, won't be open on Monday. Waiting until the following weekend has some advantages, even if that takes part of the fun out of opening day.
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The Windsor International Film Festival is sponsoring upcoming events to showcase films. Under the Stars at Charles Clark Square is this weekend: July 23-25. The "drive-in style" version, like the festival did in 2020, runs August 20-September 11. Americans can't go to the first event but could travel to the second event.
There are thousands of events on the Canadian side where Americans haven't been able to cross. The opening of the border allows for this to change.
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Surprisingly, the White House has not yet announced a reciprocal deal. As much as we present this from the standpoint of customs on the Canadian side, we are curious about the reaction at U.S. customs to Americans coming back from Canada.
They would have to let you back into the country but that could run into snags as well.
CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage
If you go, be patient and cooperative. You might need a quarantine plan in case you get denied. Be asymptomatic upon arrival. Have an itinerary (good advice anytime). If you literally travel on August 9, understand that customs hasn't gone through this process in almost 18 months. Appreciate the opportunities from crossing the border.
photo credit: me
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