Canada to lift vaccination requirements at border

The Canadian federal government is lifting Covid-19 vaccination requirements at the border.

Effective Oct. 1, travelers – regardless of citizenship – will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or use the ArriveCan app. No pre-arrival or on-arrival Covid testing will be required. They also won’t have to report signs or symptoms after arriving in Canada.

“Canada’s travel measures successfully mitigated the full impact of Covid-19 for travelers and workers in the transportation sector, and helped keep communities safe,” federal transport minister Omar Alghabra said in a release. “Thanks to Canadians who rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated, we are able to take this great step towards easing measures and returning to normal.”

The Canadian Trucking Alliance said it’s checking with the American Trucking Associations to see if there are plans there to reciprocate for U.S.-bound travelers including truckers.

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) welcomed the news and hopes to see the U.S. reciprocate.

“The PMTC is glad to see the border vaccination requirement at the Canadian boarder come to an end. In our view, this requirement was one that never should have been in place for essential workers, such as truck drivers,” PMTC president Mike Millian said.

“While the Canadian government’s announcement today to end the restrictions on Oct. 1 is welcomed and will help alleviate some of the driver shortage issues by allowing some drivers to return to cross-border work, we still need the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reciprocate so the Canada-U.S. land border can be fully open again for trade. We will continue to reach out to our friends south of the border and encourage the entry restrictions to end for those entering the U.S. as well.”