The Canadian Border Rules For International Travellers Are Changing This Week

The world feels like it's slowly but surely starting to feel some sense of normalcy again and the upcoming changes in some Canadian border rules prove it.

Starting September 7, fully vaccinated international travellers will finally be able to enter Canada again for non-essential reasons.

But there are some rules in place for these travellers to come into the country. The list on the official website states that you have to:

• Be fully vaccinated: a traveller must have received, and show proof of, the full series of a vaccine — or combination of vaccines — accepted by the Government of Canada at least 14 days prior to entering Canada (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen [Johnson & Johnson]).
• Have a valid pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test result taken no more than 72 hours before your scheduled flight or your arrival at the land border crossing, or a previous positive test result taken between 14 and 180 days before departure to Canada. Antigen tests, aka "rapid tests," are not accepted,
• Be asymptomatic
• Submit your mandatory information via ArriveCAN (App or website), including proof of vaccination in English or French and a quarantine plan
• Be admissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Take a test on arrival, if selected

MTL Blog spoke with Anne-Sophie Hamel, media relations director for Aéroports de Montréal, who confirmed that nothing will be changing for Canadian travellers.

"All [Canadian]* travellers continue to be required to have a negative pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test result taken no more than 72 hours before the scheduled departure time of their flight to Canada. Travellers that are not fully vaccinated are still being systematically tested for COVID-19 at the airport upon arrival while fully vaccinated travellers are randomly selected to complete a day 1 COVID-19 molecular test," Hamel said.

As for non-vaccinated international travellers, a quiz exists on the Government of Canada's official website to help you figure out if you're able to enter Canada. On it, it says "You will not be allowed to enter Canada, even if you have tested negative for COVID-19" if you're planning to travel for "optional reasons," including leisure.*

* This article has been updated.