Canada will soon open the border to vaccinated Americans
Travel opportunities continue to grow for Americans as more locations ease restrictions put in place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while many regions and tourism companies have begun to welcome back visitors, our Canadian neighbors have held firm on keeping the border closed to maintain low COVID-19 infection rates.
The border between Canada and the U.S. has been shut down to all non-essential traffic since March 21, 2020, but now, it looks like Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be ready to re-open travel between the two countries in the middle of August, according to a report released by the Prime Minister’s office.
There is one requirement, however: Anyone looking to cross into Canada must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The effort to vaccinate Canadian residents has been incredibly impressive, with approximately 80% of eligible Canadians having received a first dose and over 50% of eligible Canadians fully vaccinated. Understandably, Canadian officials would prefer to continue the country’s relative control over the virus, and limiting entry to only vaccinated travelers is one way to do that.
During a phone meeting on July 15, Prime Minister Trudeau and leaders from across Canada discussed the nation’s progress against COVID-19 and how the declining number of cases could soon lead to re-opening the country’s border to vaccinated Americans.
“He [Trudeau] noted the ongoing discussions with the United States on reopening plans and indicated that we could expect to start allowing fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel,” reads the official meeting report.
After the border between Canada and the U.S. opens in August, the Prime Minister indicated that fully vaccinated visitors from other countries around the world could probably start traveling to the country sometime in September.
Trudeau’s office did not release a specific timetable or process for re-opening the Canadian border during the meeting, simply promising “more details early next week,” as leaders continue to work on a system to demonstrate proof of full vaccination for incoming travelers.