Fully Vaxxed International Travellers Could Be Allowed In Canada By The Fall, Trudeau Says
But it depends on two key factors!
Justin Trudeau announced a major update to Canada's travel restrictions on Thursday, paving the way for more international travellers to come to the country soon.
According to a press release posted on July 15, fully vaccinated international travellers "from all countries" could be allowed into Canada by early September, but this is contingent on two factors.
Restrictions for international travellers will only loosen if Canada continues on its "positive path" of vaccination rates and low COVID-19 case rates, the release notes.
The press release does not clarify what "fully vaccinated" means in the context of international travel. James Cudmore, Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair's director of communications, did not clarify the PM's comments, but he pointed Narcity via email to current restrictions which define "fully vaccinated" as having received the full series of "accepted vaccines": Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson.
"The list of accepted vaccines may expand in the future," Canada's official website reads.
Trudeau is also sharing good travel news for Americans. According to the same press release, Canada could reopen the U.S. border to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents for non-essential travel in mid-August.
What are Canada's current travel restrictions?
As of July 5, fully vaccinated Canadians and those who are eligible to enter Canada may qualify for exemptions to quarantine and testing requirements when entering the country. All other non-essential travellers are not allowed to enter the country.
But the new rules have caused some confusion, according to officials. The Canada Border Services Agency told CTV News that since the exemptions came into effect, many people have been turned away after not quite understanding what the rules are.
Travel has gone up by about 25% since the new rules were implemented in early July, officials explained, but approximately half of those new travellers had to be turned away — most for not qualifying as a fully exempted traveller under Canada's definition.