Canada to Require Full Vaccination for Foreign Truck Drivers Entering the Country

In November 2021, the Government of Canada announced that truck drivers entering the country from abroad would soon need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In a news release dated November 19, 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada said that from January 15, 2022, several groups of travellers who had been exempt from the vaccination requirement for entry would lose that exemption. Essential service providers, including truck drivers, were on the list.

Who was affected

Up to that point, truck drivers and other essential service providers had been among the travellers exempt from Canada's entry requirements for unvaccinated people. The November 19 release said that as of January 15, 2022, these groups would only be allowed to enter if fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved for entry into Canada:

• people travelling to reunite with family (with an exception for some unvaccinated children under 18);
• international students aged 18 and over;
• professional and amateur athletes;
• people with a valid work permit, including temporary foreign workers outside agriculture and food processing;
• essential service providers, including truck drivers.

Foreign nationals after January 15, 2022

The release said that after January 15, 2022, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals would be allowed into Canada only if they met the criteria for a limited set of exceptions. Those exceptions covered groups such as agricultural and food processing workers, marine crew members, people entering on compassionate grounds, new permanent residents, resettling refugees and some children under 18. Foreign nationals who were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and did not fit an exception would be refused entry. Unvaccinated travellers who were still exempt would continue to face testing, quarantine and other entry requirements.

For cross-border carriers, the practical point was that foreign-national drivers who were not fully vaccinated would no longer qualify for the essential-worker exemption from mid-January 2022.

Other changes in the same announcement

The release also set out border changes scheduled to start sooner, on November 30, 2021:

• More vaccines accepted. Sinopharm, Sinovac and COVAXIN were added to the list of vaccines that count toward being fully vaccinated for travel to Canada, matching the World Health Organization's Emergency Use Listing.
• Short trips. Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens, permanent residents and people registered under the Indian Act who left and returned within 72 hours, by land or air, would no longer need a pre-entry molecular test for trips that started in Canada.
• Domestic travel. Vaccination would be required for air and rail travel within and out of Canada, and a molecular test would no longer be accepted as an alternative except in limited cases.

The government said all travellers still had to submit their information, including proof of vaccination, through ArriveCAN before arriving. It also reminded travellers that provinces and territories could have their own entry rules.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in the release that vaccination would continue to play an important role in keeping people and transportation systems safe as the economy restarted.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of November 2021. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.