Trudeau Reportedly Planning to Ease US-Canada Border Restrictions

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly readying to ease the US-Canada border restrictions for those who completed their vaccination. If things go as planned, Canada will no longer require a 14-day quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers.

While the updated COVID restrictions are not yet announced, travelers entering Canada will have to show a negative test and finish quarantine. It was reported that Canada might announce the updated restrictions by June 22. One factor that could influence this decision is the trajectory of both US and Canada’s vaccination programs.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said that Public Safety Minister Bill Blair mentioned in a virtual meeting of border mayors that they are looking at June 22 to ease US-Canada border restrictions. Diodati said that “We’re hoping to get some more confirmation this week”.

Reviving the Battered Travel Industry

Trudeau announced on Monday that though Canadians’ safety is a priority, the government should also take action to revive tourism.

He said that “We are looking at how we’re going to start welcoming up tourists in a phased way as the numbers come down in Canada, as the numbers start to come down in the United States and elsewhere around the world”.

The Canada-US land border has been closed since March 2020 for non-essential travelers. Both US and Canada have been doing bilateral, month-to-month arrangement to extend their travel restrictions. Now that vaccination rates are up in both US and Canada, there is a chance that travel restrictions will finally relax in the coming days. Their latest agreement is set to expire on June 21.

75% Should Get At Least One Dose

Trudeau mentioned before that the country needs to reach a certain number of people vaccinated before relaxing health restrictions—including the US-Canada border restrictions. Trudeau wants to get at least 75% of Canadians vaccinated with their first vaccine dose and at least 20% should be fully vaccinated.

As of May 29, more than 68% of Canadian adults had their first dose and more than 7% are fully vaccinated. Mayor Diodati said that “The federal government’s nervous”. He added that “They don’t want to make a mistake or misstep”.