Important info for travellers entering Canada

To limit the spread of COVID-19, travellers entering Canada must follow the rules set out by the emergency orders under the Quarantine Act.

No one should travel when sick. Commercial airline restrictions may also prevent you from boarding your plane if you’re sick. However, Canadians, persons with status under the Indian Act and permanent residents who have COVID-19 symptoms are allowed to return to Canada.

When entering Canada

When entering Canada, you’ll be required to acknowledge that you must either to quarantine for 14 days if you don’t have symptoms or isolate for 14 days if you have symptoms.

Government of Canada representatives at Canadian ports of entry will determine if you:

• have suitable place for quarantine or isolation, where you’ll have access to basic necessities, including water, food, medication and heat during the winter months.
• need to be transferred to a designated quarantine facility, if no other suitable options are available
• have no symptoms of COVID-19 and can continue domestic travel to your place of quarantine

You will be asked if you have a suitable place to isolate or quarantine, where:

• You won’t have contact with people who: are 65 years or older, have underlying medical conditions, have compromised immune systems.
• You won’t be in a group or community living arrangement such as: industrial camps, student residences, construction trailers, residential or long-term care facilities, sharing a small apartment, living in the same household with large families or many people, having roommates who haven’t travelled with you that you can’t avoid.

You’ll also be given instructions about the actions you must take under the emergency order and the penalties for non-compliance.

Travellers entering Canada must:

• provide traveller contact information through:
  • the ArriveCAN mobile app or
  • the ArriveCAN website or
  • a paper form
• undergo screening by a border official
• answer any relevant questions

The information border officials collect helps the Public Health Agency of Canada with its compliance and enforcement efforts. Providing false or misleading information is an offence under the Quarantine Act and can result in fines and potentially prison time.

Use the ArriveCAN app or website to speed up your arrival process in Canada and spend less time with border and public health officers. Submit your information easily and securely before arriving in Canada.

Compliance and enforcement

Violating any instructions provided to you when you entered Canada or failing to provide accurate information is an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to up to:

• 6 months in prison and/or
• $750,000 in fines

If you choose to break your mandatory quarantine or isolation, resulting in the death or serious bodily harm to another person, you could face:

• a fine of up to $1,000,000 or
• imprisonment of up to 3 years or
• both

The Contraventions Act gives police (including the RCMP, provincial and local police) more power to enforce the Quarantine Act. They can issue tickets to people who don’t comply with the act or the emergency orders. Fines range from $275 to $1,000.

Source:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html