Canada will not renew its last COVID-19 border restrictions when they expire at the end of this week, meaning visitors will soon be able to enter the country without showing proof of vaccination.
Ottawa confirmed Monday that requirements for international travelers, like vaccination, testing before or shortly after arrival and following quarantine rules, will expire Oct. 1.
It also means the end of the much-maligned ArriveCan app that travelers must use to show their vaccine status and test results.
“We’ve heard serious concerns, not just from travelers who are trying to cross the border, but from border town mayors,” said Taylor Bachrach, transport critic for the opposition New Democratic Party. “And so if this rumor that we’re hearing that they’re going to make the app optional, if that’s true, I think that is something that will be welcomed by a lot of people.”
As to the timing of the announcement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals say decisions were made in the best interests of the health of Canadians and in line with scientific data.
For months, the travel and tourism industries have called for the heightened border restrictions to be lifted, saying they have cost them millions of dollars in revenue and fears that many Americans will change their habits and no longer consider visiting Canada in the future.
