Canada will ease border restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers from the United States on August 9 — and on September 7, it will ease measures for people from other countries as well.
The Trudeau government’s announcement on Monday came after months of pressure on Ottawa and Washington to relax the rules for non-essential travel at the Canada-US border.
Now the main question is how and when the Biden administration will relax its own security measures.
A senior cabinet member in the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada is looking forward to news of a response from the Americans.
«We hope that at the right moment the American government will be able to change its border measures, but we respect their decision,» Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs Dominique Leblanc told reporters in French after the announcement.
«We hope to get news from them soon.»
What can we expect from the United States?
Canadian officials said that although they are in constant contact with their American counterparts, they have no information about how the US plans to act.
Later on Monday, White House press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about plans to open the border with Canada.
«We are continuing to review our travel restrictions,» Psaki told reporters in Washington.
«Any decisions on the resumption of trips will be made by our experts in the field of public health and medicine. We take this incredibly seriously. We look at and are guided by the recommendations of our own medical experts.»
