Trudeau says unvaccinated tourists won’t be welcome in Canada for ‘quite a while’

The Canadian prime minister said he would focus first on allowing fully vaccinated travellers to enter the country

Justin Trudeau has said that unvaccinated travellers will have to wait longer than vaccinated travellers before being allowed in Canada. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced its going to be “quite a while” before Canada will let in unvaccinated travellers, despite pressure from the travel industry.

“I can tell you right now that’s not going to happen for quite a while,” Mr Trudeau said at a press conference in British Columbia, asserting the need to protect the citizens of Canada.

Mr Trudeau continued, “We need to continue to ensure that the safety of Canadians, of all the sacrifices that so many people have made over the past many, many months, are not for nothing.”

Opening the border too soon had the potential to make all of the work the population had done to decrease the threat of Covid-19, he said.

However, despite this comment from Mr Trudeau, there have been some easing in Canadian travel restrictions. For example, on 5 July, Canada said that fully vaccinated residents do not need to quarantine for two weeks after arrival. However, they do need to supply a negative PCR test before their trip and take a second one days after arrival. Travellers must foot the bill for this, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

At the press conference, Mr Trudeau said that one of his government’s next travel-related priorities was to figure out how to allow non-Canadian vaccinated travellers into the country.

He told reporters, “Before we get to reflecting on what international travellers who are not fully vaccinated might be able to do … The next step will be looking at what measures we can allow for international travellers who are fully vaccinated. That will be our first focus, and we will have more to say in the coming weeks.”

This response on July 8 came the same day that a group of tourist industry professionals came together to rally the government to act and put a plan together to create some stability, despite the Prime Minster’s promise of aid for the sector.

The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable organised a press conference to push for a map of what the tourism season might resemble.

“Business owners aren’t picky, what they ask for is a plan that they can rely on, a plan that allows for preparation, for rehiring and for retooling, a predictable path forward that creates confidence for the future. And they need lead time to prepare,” said Perrin Beaty, the President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

He continued, “Canadians need clarity and certainty, which today we don’t have, and the goalposts keep moving. It’s time to pick a goal, and to stick with it.”

He expressed concern that any substantial decisions might not get made until the next election is called and pointed out the high rates of vaccination among Canadian citizens. Currently, 40 per cent of the population has received two doses of coronavirus vaccine, according to data.

Other industry representatives expressed concern about the uncertainty, such as Joe Kawalski from Wilderness Tours, saying politicians did not understand their needs.

He said, “What’s been frustrating and infuriating is being on the government regulated yo-yo, not knowing if you’re going to be open, when you’re going to be open. The people that are making these decisions do not have a clue how the real world works.”

Officials from the Public Health Agency of Canada said they would use the data gathered from doubled vaccinated Canadians returning home before they eased up on non-residents coming to Canada.

Dr Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer said, “What is the test positive rate? And what are we finding in the actual travellers coming in right now in this in now very initial precautionary phase?”

She continued, “That might then help us adjust the next phases moving forwards in terms of what’s the testing regime that’s appropriate for vaccinated travellers, for example.”