Skip to content

Canada lifts global advisory on non-essential travel, still advises against cruises

Global travel advisory has been in place since March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit
26913500_web1_P1-Cruise-JUE-211021_2
The last cruise ship of the year, the Norwegian Encore, sails out of Juneau on Wednesday, Oct., 20, 2021, ending a cruise ship season that almost didn’t happen. Despite other warnings lifting, Canadians are still advised to avoid cruise ship travel. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

The federal government has lifted a global advisory asking Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country, but continues to advise against travel on cruise ships.

The global travel advisory was put in place in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The government of Canada’s website now shows advisories for each destination country, as it did prior to the pandemic.

It also urges Canadians to ensure they are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus before travelling abroad, and to stay informed of the COVID-19 situation at their destination.

The move comes as the federal government announced it had reached an agreement with the provinces on a new national vaccine passport for domestic and international travel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that provinces and territories have agreed to adjust their own vaccine passports to give them the same look, feel and security measures based on the international standard for so-called smart health cards.

Several have already started distributing proof-of-vaccination documents, including Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Canada opened its borders last month to non-essential international travellers who have received both doses of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine, and to fully vaccinated travellers from the United States in August.

The U.S. government recently announced that its land borders will reopen to non-essential Canadian travellers on Nov. 8.

—The Canadian Press

RELATED: Making travel plans? Pack your federal and B.C. vaccine cards, Horgan says

RELATED: Mandatory COVID vaccines for passengers on planes, trains and cruise ships in Canada