Canada’s COVID-19 travel vaccine passport goes into effect tomorrow

Beginning on Saturday, Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine passport for travel will take effect, with a brief grace period

The Smart Health Card has not been made available in all provinces yet, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a press conference on October 21, that all provinces are working to make them available. For now, those who don’t have the Smart Health Card vaccine certificate can use the vaccine certificates their province offers.

Passengers aged 12 and up travelling on federally regulated flights, trains or cruises must be fully vaccinated beginning October 31. A grace period until November 30 will allow passengers to show a negative COVID-19 molecular test taken within the last 72 hours. This applies to both international and domestic travel.

The federal government considers someone fully vaccinated if it has been 14 days since their second dose of Canada’s accepted vaccines, or 14 days after your first dose if it is a single dose vaccine. Canada accepts the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

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Currently, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland use the Smart Health Card certificates. Officials in BC said that theirs would be ready for download on October 30.

Travellers looking to download their international vaccine passports can do so through their province or territory. The federal government has compiled all of the links for download per province here.

Beginning on November 30, the grace period for federally regulated travel will end, and all travellers aged 12 and up must provide proof of vaccination.

If travelling internationally, it is important to check the regulations and restrictions in place for your destination. When returning to Canada, be sure to have the ArriveCAN app with all the proper documentation loaded, including your proof of vaccination.

The new travel rules come as more countries around the world begin to reopen their borders to international travellers. Last week, Canada lifted its advisory against all non-essential travel for the first time since 2020.