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Canada Is Finally Reopening Its Borders to Americans

Canada News
by Morgane Croissant Jul 20, 2021

On Monday, July 19, 2021, the Canadian government announced the soft reopening of the country’s borders.

Starting August 9, fully vaccinated US travelers and permanent residents of the United States will be allowed entry into Canada. The Canadian border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020, a period of 16 months.

People from the US will be able to travel to Canada without the need to quarantine upon arrival if they have received the full course of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to traveling. The Canadian government will only accept those who have received the vaccines manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson.

Besides providing proof of vaccination, US travelers will need to show the results of a COVID-19 molecular test before entry. The announcement also specifies that Canada’s post-arrival testing strategy has evolved and that “fully vaccinated travellers will not need a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected to complete a Day 1 COVID-19 molecular test.”

Unvaccinated children traveling with their fully vaccinated parents will be allowed entry and won’t be required to quarantine.

All the Canadian airports welcoming international travelers starting August 9 are:

  • Montréal-Trudeau International Airport
  • Toronto Pearson International Airport
  • Calgary International Airport
  • Vancouver International Airport
  • Halifax Stanfield International Airport
  • Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport
  • Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
  • Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
  • Edmonton International Airport

There are currently no plans for the US to reopen its 5,500-mile land borders with Canada, CNN reported.

If all goes well, Canada also hopes to reopen its borders to all fully vaccinated travelers from the rest of the world by September 7. For all the eligibility requirements needed to travel to Canada this summer, visit the government’s website.

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