Canada's Travel Rules Are Totally Changing Again Tomorrow & Here's What You Need To Know

Back in July, the federal government announced several big updates to Canada's travel restrictions. The first of those updates are set to begin on Monday, August 9.

The first international visitors will be welcomed back to Canada for non-essential purposes, more Canadian airports will reopen and several restrictions will be scrapped.

Ahead of the big day, here's everything you need to know:

Non-essential travel is restarting

From 12:01 a.m. on August 9, Canada will allow entry to fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents residing in the States.

This means American tourists will be able to visit for non-essential purposes, including travel, tourism, shopping and visiting friends and family.

In order to gain entry to Canada and skip mandatory quarantine, visitors must have received the full course of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before travelling.

Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated people must continue to quarantine for two weeks.

Fully vaccinated international travellers from outside of the U.S. will be welcomed back to Canada for discretionary purposes from September 7, 2021.

Restrictions are getting scrapped

To make the travel process more streamlined, and to reduce the time travellers spend in airports, a number of Canada's entry requirements are being scrapped.

From Monday, fully vaccinated people will not have to take a post-arrival COVID-19 test when entering Canada. Instead, airports will use a "border testing surveillance program" to identify new variants of concern and monitor vaccine effectiveness.

Those who are fully vaccinated will also be permitted to skip the day-eight COVID-19 test, which was previously required from all travellers. However, there will be no changes to the mandatory testing requirements for unvaccinated travellers.

As of Monday, pre-board temperature checks will no longer be a requirement for entry to Canada. The process will be scrapped on both domestic and international flights.

That's not all. Canada's hotel quarantine program will end as of 12:01 a.m., which will apply to all travellers regardless of their vaccination status.

Airports are reopening

On August 9, international flights will be permitted to land in five additional Canadian airports.

Previously, only four airports were allowed to accept passenger flights from abroad: Montréal-Trudeau; Toronto Pearson; Calgary International Airport; and Vancouver International Airport.

From Monday, this list will be updated to include: Halifax Stanfield; Québec City Jean Lesage; Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier; Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson; and Edmonton International Airport.

Each location will be working to implement COVID-19 safety measures "as soon as possible after August 9."

What hasn't changed?

While a lot of Canada's measures will be updated as of Monday, there are a number of things that are not set to change just yet.

For example, the India flight ban will continue until at least August 21, 2021. Fully vaccinated international travellers from outside of the U.S. will not be allowed to visit Canada for discretionary reasons until September 7.

Pre-departure COVID-19 testing will still be required and masks must continue to be worn in all Canadian airports and flights.

The federal government in Canada continues to advise against all non-essential travel too, regardless of a traveller's vaccination status.

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.