Canada to drop COVID-19 vaccine requirement at border by Sept. 30: source

The federal government is expected to drop mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirements at its border as of Sept. 30, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The official said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to give a final sign-off on it but said the government would likely be dropping the requirement as well as ending random COVID-19 testing at airports.

Filling out information in the ArriveCan app will also no longer be required. The app, currently required by travellers to provide mandatory travel and public health information when entering the country, will expire on Sept. 30.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The feds last extended public health measures at borders, including using the ArriveCan app, on June 29. At the time, the government said 95 per cent of land and air travellers had been using the app.

The mask mandate for travellers on planes and trains is expected to remain in place.

A fully vaccinated traveller entering the country is considered immunized if they have received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine accepted for travel, a mix of two accepted vaccines, or at least one dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot.

These individuals must have received a second dose at least 14 calendar days before entering Canada.

This would mean unvaccinated professional athletes like major league baseball players would be allowed to play in Toronto in the playoffs should the Blue Jays make the postseason.

Several notable players — including National League MVP candidates and teammates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado — were forced to skip a road trip to Toronto due to their unvaccinated status.

Former Blue Jay and reigning American League CY Young award winner Robbie Ray, who signed with the Seattle Mariners in November 2021, didn’t accompany his team to Toronto in their last series as a result of being unvaccinated.

Entering Tuesday, the Blue Jays are a game-and-a-half ahead of the Mariners for the top spot in the AL Wild Card. The U.S. currently mandates that all entrants be vaccinated, though it’s unclear if that will be reversed by Sept. 30.

On June 20, Canada suspended COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic travel on planes and trains and outbound international travellers.

The Canadian government has also since lifted COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federally regulated workers, including those in public service, the RCMP, and transport workers, including truckers.

With files from Rob Gillies of The Associated Press