Canada to ease border measures and welcome vaccinated US tourists next month

Non-essential travel between the two countries has been limited for more than a year

Vehicles enter the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in Detroit to travel to Canada. AP

Canada will start allowing fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents into the country on August 9 for non-essential travel as the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic fades, Ottawa said on Monday.

Businesses on both sides of the border, particularly the travel and airline industries, are demanding an end to restrictions on non-essential travel between Canada and the US, which were first imposed in March 2020.

Fully vaccinated visitors from countries other than the US will be permitted to enter from September 7.

The relaxation depends on Canada's Covid-19 situation remaining favourable, the government said in a statement.

“Thanks to the hard work of Canadians, rising vaccination rates and declining Covid-19 cases, the government … is able to move forward with adjusted border measures,” it said.

People eligible to enter Canada must have received their final vaccination at least 14 days beforehand. From August 9, Ottawa is also lifting the requirement that all travellers arriving by air must spend three nights in a hotel.

The government said, however, that Canadians should avoid non-essential travel abroad.

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  Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister, puts on a protective mask after a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on 25 September. David Kawai/Bloomberg

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  A healthcare worker poses for a photograph while walking towards a line of patients waiting outside a Covid-19 testing centre at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 19. Cole Burston/Bloomberg

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  A bartender talks to a patron at Lemeac restaurant on the first day after the coronavirus restrictions were lifted to visit restaurants in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on June 22. Christinne Muschi/ Reuters

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  A boy plays on a phone as he waits in line for hours at a Covid-19 assessment centre at Mount Sinai Hospital during in Toronto on 24 September. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP

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  People queue up outside a Covid-19 testing centre at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 18. Cole Burston/Bloomberg

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  A woman at a park in the Montreal financial district on 28 September 28. Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP

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  A pedestrian in Old Montreal, on 28 September. Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP

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  A woman wears a face mask as she walks by a sign advising of the mandatory wearing of masks and face coverings in Montreal, on 21 September. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP

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  Chairs stacked outside a bistro as the Quebec government has ordered all restaurants, bars and casinos to close for 28 days effective midnight September 30 as Covid-19 numbers continue to rise in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 29 September. Christinne Muschi / Reuters