From 28 February, fully vaccinated travellers will be able to use a rapid Covid antigen test taken the day prior to their scheduled flight departure, or a molecular test (taken no more than 72 hours before their scheduled flight) to meet entry requirements.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said antigen tests taken at home were “not sufficient” to meet the pre-entry rules and must be administered by a “laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service”.
The agency added recent Covid data showed Canada’s wave of the Omicron variant had passed its peak and it was time to “move towards a more sustainable approach to long-term management of Covid-19”.
Upon arrival into Canada, travellers will be "randomly selected" for testing but will not be required to quarantine while awaiting their test result.
Children under 12 travelling with fully vaccinated adults will continue to be exempt from quarantine.
Unvaccinated travellers will still to be required to test on arrival, on Day 8 and quarantine for 14 days and unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter Canada unless they qualify for an exemption.
The Canadian government will adjust its travel health notice from level 3 to level 2 – meaning it no longer recommends Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes.
At 16:00 EST on 28 February, Transport Canada will also lift its current flight restrictions and allow all Canadian airports to receive international passenger flights.
