Canada is getting a vaccine passport for international travel

Canada is getting a standardized vaccine passport for travellers.

While Quebec has moved ahead with a vaccine passport for its residents, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has resisted calls from businesses.

But now it looks like Ottawa will be creating a COVID-19 vaccination history passport to show to foreign and Canadian border officials, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced.

Digital vaccine passport coming from the Trudeau government. Thank gawd!! #VaccinePassport

— sarrahh01 (@sarrahh011) August 11, 2021

The Government of Canada is "collaborating with the provinces and territories to develop a proof of vaccination that will facilitate cross-border travel, while reducing the risk of spread and importation of COVID-19," the press release reads.

Although the government is still advising Canadians avoid non-essential travel, they recognize that proof of vaccination credentials will support the re-opening of societies and economies.

"Thanks to the incredible progress that Canadians have made, our country is reopening—gradually, cautiously and guided by public health," said Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. "This means that many Canadians are contemplating doing something they haven’t done in over a year and a half: travelling."

I asked Leblanc if the feds vaccine passport could be used in a domestically

"If provinces decided in their own jurisdiction that this was another measure that would bring protection to their citizens, they would be able to use this credential"https://t.co/JYePgp9JDz pic.twitter.com/7EfDq4JjBX

— Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) August 11, 2021

And it looks like the vaccine passport could be used domestically as well as for international travel.

If provinces want to use the same passport within their province that could be an option, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said.

For Canadians who decide to travel, using a proof of vaccination passport will provide foreign border officials with the vaccination history needed to assess whether a traveller meets their public health requirements and provide a trusted and verifiable credential for when they return home.

There is no timeline on when the standardized vaccine passport will be available. For now, people can submit their proof of vaccination in ArriveCAN (mobile app or Canada.ca/ArriveCAN).

This is really unacceptable. I’m supposed to work in Norway at the end of September. They are open to international travellers who have a vaccine passport consistent with EU’s standards. They want me but Canada is holding me back.

— Greg Lehman (@GregLehman) August 11, 2021

And if you plan to travel, you will still need to check requirements at your destination. Each country will have its own requirements for proof of vaccination.

Canadians who do not have proof of vaccination can travel outside the country, but they may have to quarantine or meet other requirements at their destination country, and they will be subject to mandatory quarantine and testing upon return to Canada.

Those who don’t have their proof of vaccination, usually a receipt sent via email after each shot, can check with the Province of Ontario COVID-19 vaccination page for how to get one.