Updated COVID-19 Canada entry rules

Summary#

The Public Health Agency of Canada issued a set of emergency orders under the Quarantine Act that keep limits on who can enter Canada and update testing, quarantine and isolation rules. The orders change some rules for fully vaccinated travellers and add a few targeted exemptions; most changes took effect on August 9, 2021, with additional measures starting September 7, 2021, and the orders were set to end on September 21, 2021.

What it does#

• Keeps in place broad bans on foreign nationals entering Canada unless they meet an exemption. The bans are split into two separate orders covering entry from:
  • countries other than the United States (Prohibition order), and
  • the United States (U.S. entry order).
• Updates the travel health rules in the quarantine and testing order, Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations), including:
  • Lets some fully vaccinated travellers enter Canada for discretionary travel without a 14‑day quarantine if they meet proof‑of‑vaccination and testing rules.
  • Allows fully vaccinated travellers to bring certain unvaccinated dependants (for example, children under 12) under specific conditions.
  • Shortens the isolation period for people who are symptomatic or test positive from 14 days to 10 days.
  • Requires pre‑departure molecular tests (usually a PCR) taken no more than 72 hours before travel, with an expanded option to accept a prior positive test taken between 14 and 180 days as evidence of past infection.
  • Removes the requirement for incoming air travellers to wait in government‑arranged hotels for on‑arrival test results.
  • Gives the Chief Public Health Officer authority to require randomized surveillance testing of arriving travellers.
  • Creates specific, narrow exemptions (for example, crew members, certain essential workers, diplomats, Canadian citizens and permanent residents, people traveling for urgent compassionate reasons, and residents of particular border communities).
  • Allows people who remain continuously on a vessel or aircraft while in Canadian waters/airspace to be excluded from parts of the order.
• Maintains reporting, mask and ArriveCAN electronic‑submission requirements for travellers.
• Retains penalties for breaking the rules, including fines and imprisonment.

Who's affected#

• Travellers to Canada, especially:
  • foreign nationals seeking discretionary travel,
  • fully vaccinated travellers who may now qualify for a quarantine exemption,
  • unvaccinated travellers and their dependent children,
  • Canadian citizens and permanent residents (who keep their right to return).
• Border and travel workers, including crew, diplomats and essential service providers who are listed as exemptions.
• People in specific cross‑border communities (for example, residents of Point Roberts, Northwest Angle, Hyder and Campobello Island) who get tailored rules for everyday travel.
• Provinces, public health authorities and agencies that must coordinate testing, quarantine facilities and follow‑up.
• Anyone considering travel to Canada should expect to use ArriveCAN and to meet testing, vaccine‑proof and quarantine/isolation rules.

If the text left any group unclear, the orders include long lists of exceptions and official discretion — so in some cases it may not be obvious from the summary whether a particular person qualifies for an exemption.

Why it matters#

• These orders were the federal government’s tool for reducing the chance that travellers bring COVID‑19 or new variants into Canada while starting a cautious reopening for vaccinated people.
• For travellers, the rules determine whether you can board a plane to Canada, whether you must quarantine for 14 days (or 10 days if isolated after a positive test), what tests you must show (pre‑departure and on arrival), and whether you must submit proof of vaccination in advance.
• For families, the changes matter because some fully vaccinated parents can now travel with unvaccinated young children under controlled conditions.
• The orders also show how Canadian border policy was being tied to vaccination status and testing capacity, and how public‑health authorities kept the power to tighten or relax measures by regulation or targeted exemptions.
• Non‑compliance can carry serious penalties (up to $1,000,000 in fines or 3 years imprisonment), so travellers and employers needed to pay close attention to the rules in effect at travel time.