Canada will not reopen for international tourism for at least one more month as the current restrictions were extended until September 30th, 2020.
Minister of Public Safety, Bill Blair announced the update on his twitter, Friday afternoon.
Blair stated the extension was to “limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in our community”.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada are exempt from the restrictions but face strict 14-day quarantines upon returning home.
Canada originally closed its borders back in March to all non-citizens and non-essential travelers. Trudeau said “Canada will be denying entry to people who are not Canadian citizens, or permanent residents.”
5 months later with the pandemic dragging on and cases increasing in parts of Canada, the border will remain closed to foreign tourism until at least September 30th.
The closure of the land border to all non-essential traffic between the United States and Canada has also been extended until at least September 21st.
The agreement, as it stands, exempts the flow of trade and commerce, as well as temporary foreign workers and vital health-care workers who live and work on opposite sides of the border.
Exemptions are also made for Americans transiting to Alaska.
As of June 9th, exemptions were made for foreign nationals who are immediate family members of either Canadian citizens or permanent residents are permitted entry into Canada.
This has allowed both foreign and cross-border Canada-U.S. families to reunite under strict regulations including having to self-quarantine in Canada.
Although the Canadian Government has issued an “avoid all non-essential” global travel advisory, Canadians are free to leave and return to the country for any reason including tourism.
Many Canadian passengers have still been traveling to the United States as there are currently no restrictions on Canadians arriving by air for non-essential travel.
On the other hand, U.S. citizens traveling for non-essential reasons are not permitted to travel to Canada by either land or air.
All Canadians returning home must quarantine for a minimum of 14 days under the Canada Quarantine Act. Those caught violating quarantines can face harsh penalties including fines up to $750,000 and even jail time. (https://www.traveloffpath.com/canada-will-not-open-for-international-tourism-until-at-least-september-30th/)
