OTTAWA — The federal government will remove all COVID-19 entry restrictions as well as testing, quarantine and isolation requirements for anyone entering Canada as of Saturday, Oct. 1.
The move had been signalled earlier this month, but was confirmed Monday in a government announcement.
The government is also removing all existing travel requirements, so that as of Oct. 1, travellers will no longer be required to undergo health checks for travel on air and rail, wear masks on planes and trains, or use the ArriveCAN app.
Cruise measures are also being lifted, and travellers will no longer be required to have pre-board tests, be vaccinated, or use ArriveCAN.
The announcement stated that the decision to end the mandates was facilitated by a number of factors, including modelling that indicates Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5-fuelled wave, the country's high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, and the availability and use of vaccine boosters.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos cautioned, however, that COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses will continue to circulate over the winter months.
Duclos said he encouraged Canadians to stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations and to exercise individual public health measures.
The United States still requires non-U.S. citizens to be fully vaccinated to enter the country by land, water or air.
