The Canadian government announced on Monday plans to ease border measures for fully vaccinated tourists amidst looming vaccine mixing confusion. 

Come August 9 fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents of the United States, currently residing in the U.S., will be granted entry to Canada for discretionary (non-essential) travel. Exceptions will be made for unvaccinated children under 12 years of age and/or unvaccinated dependent children who are travelling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian. 

The Canadian government plans to allow entry to travellers from all other foreign countries on September 7.

Fully vaccinated American citizens, permanent residents and children under 12 years of age will not have to quarantine for two weeks. However, government officials say unvaccinated children should avoid group settings, such as camps or daycares, and must follow public health measures. Unvaccinated children will additionally be subject to the Day 1 and Day 8 testing requirements. 

Travellers with a right to entry are expected to show proof of a completed Covid-19 vaccine series via the ArriveCan app or website. If travellers fail to show proof of vaccination they will not be permitted to board the plane. Accepted vaccines include Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson). 

A modified quarantine plan will be available soon for travellers who are unable to receive a vaccination due to a health condition.

There has been no similar announcement from the White House concerning Canadian travellers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We will continue to work with them, but understand and respect that every country makes its own decisions about what it does at its borders”.

There is still much confusion surrounding whether or not Canadians who have received two different doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be recognized internationally as fully vaccinated. 

There are countries that have not yet approved vaccine mixing but Trudeau remains optimistic. Just last week he said, “We’re going to work with the international community to make sure that people who are fully vaccinated in ways that Canadians recognize as safe and effective are also recognized around the world”.

That same week, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc spoke about what the government is doing to ensure Canadian’s with mixed vaccines are recognized internationally as fully vaccinated. He said, “We work with allies … in sharing data [and] working with them on the best immunization strategies”.

LeBlanc added that they are working to create an “internationally accepted proof of vaccination” and that further updates will come “over the coming weeks and months.”