Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announces the lifting of #COVID19 border measures, including vaccination & testing requirements for all travellers & mandatory use of ArriveCan app. Mask requirements on trains & planes will also be lifted. The changes take effect Oct 1.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/pT8Garg9Ed
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) September 26, 2022
The news has been leaked for a few days but is now official: Getting into Canada will be a lot easier as a travel destination when the month changes to October.
The ArriveCAN app will be optional when the change is made.
This had been a great concern especially for border cities whose officials were concerned because American travelers were much less likely to cross into Canada, especially for cross border shopping. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made things easier for Canadians to shop within the U.S. on quick cross border trips but not the other way around.
Travelers won't have to submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website or provide proof of vaccination. There are other provisions that will be dropped.
Canada to finally lift pre-arrival COVID-19 tests for air and land border crossings
U.S. to open border to fully vaccinated travelers starting today
The restrictions led to actions such as the service of the Windsor Tunnel Bus to be suspended. You have an international border, the busiest crossing between the countries. Greyhound went to Windsor before the pandemic but now Greyhound doesn't go to Canada (outside of Toronto and Vancouver from the United States). You couldn't cross on foot on the Ambassador Bridge or the tunnel.
We hope the Tunnel Bus and other suspended service will return shortly after the government's announcement this morning.
For those who criticise us for not being critical enough of the prime minister, well, you should read our border crossings coverage. We appreciate the overall diligence of the Trudeau Government on COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. We do feel the government has carried on good policies far too long.
Where to visit Canada in 2022
This change affects the sports world in that unvaccinated athletes can travel to Canada as of October 1. The Toronto Blue Jays had to deal with that in terms of visiting MLB players and in the acquisition of the previously unvaccinated Whit Merrifield from Kansas City. The Blue Jays host Boston on October 1-2. The team might not play any home playoff games in the opening round, depending on the playoff seeding.
This is more relevant to the NHL teams that won't have to worry about unvaccinated players playing in Canada.
Ideally, people would be vaccinated in coming to Canada. The issue was that the good intentions produced a policy that made traveling to Canada not worth the hassle.
CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage
CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage
The obvious time to make the change would be heading into a travel summer. Hopefully, people can make travel plans to Canada in the beautiful fall and for those who enjoy winter. Our look at where to visit Canada in 2023 is going to be a lot brighter.
Twitter capture: @CPAC_TV
photo credit: me
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