Canada Is Getting Strict New Rules For Int'l Travellers, Including Mandatory Hotel Stays

In a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new travel rules for Canada. 

In the near future (Trudeau said "as soon as possible"), international travellers will have to undergo mandatory PCR testing at their airport of arrival.

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They will then be required to wait at an "approved" hotel at their own expense until they receive their results.

The prime minister estimated that the wait could be as long as three days and cost upwards of $2,000.

"Those with negative test results," Trudeau said, "will then be able to quarantine at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement."

Those with positive tests will have to quarantine at "designated government facilities to make sure they're not carrying variants of potential concern."

Moreover, incoming international passenger flights will be limited to four airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

Trudeau also said Canada's major airlines have agreed to suspend flights to "sun destinations," like the Caribbean.

The announcement comes after Quebec Premier François Legault publicly pressured the prime minister to either forbid non-essential international travel or introduce mandatory hotel quarantines.

"When we have people who come from abroad who met other people who were in international places, we multiply the chances to have [COVID-19] strains enter [Quebec]," Legault said on January 19.

"I understand that Mr. Trudeau, like us, says that it's not ideal, but we're no longer in hypotheses. We must act."