Pandemic restrictions on travel between Canada and the U.S. began to loosen Monday for some Canadians, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said plans to totally reopen the border would be announced over the next few weeks.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents who have had a full dose of a coronavirus vaccine approved for use in Canada can skip a 14-day quarantine that has been a requirement since March 2020.
“We’re very hopeful that we’re going to see new steps on reopening announced in the coming weeks,” Trudeau said at a news conference. “We’re going to make sure that we’re not seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases because nobody wants to go back to further restrictions, after having done so much and sacrificed so much to get to this point.”
He also said that lifting some of the coronavirus restrictions on travel marks a “big step″ toward reopening the border, but that he is hesitant for the country to move too quickly.
“Nobody wants us to move too fast and have to reimpose restrictions as case numbers rise like we’re seeing elsewhere in the world,″ he said. “We need to do this right.”
Accepted vaccines to enter Canada:
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine – single dose.
Vaccines not currently accepted for fully vaccinated status in Canada:
Bharat Biotech (Covaxin, BBV152 A, B, C), Cansino (Convidecia, Ad5-nCoV), Gamalaya (Sputnik V, Gam-Covid-Vac), Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm-Wuhan), Sinovac (CoronaVac, PiCoVacc), Vector Institute (EpiVacCorona). The list of accepted vaccines may expand in the future.
If you received your vaccines outside Canada, it’s still accepted but proof of vaccination must be uploaded digitally in ArriveCAN and must only be in French or English, or certified translation into French or English.
Eligible air travelers also no longer have to spend their first three days in the country at a government-approved hotel.
Restrictions barring all non-essential trips between Canada and the United States, including tourism, will remain in place until at least July 21.