The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced that starting from July 31, 2020, at 12:01 am Pacific Daylight Time, stricter rules and additional entry conditions will be applied on travellers transiting through Canada to Alaska for a non-discretionary (essential) purpose. These measures are put in place to further reduce the risk of introduction of COVID-19 cases and to minimize the amount of time that in-transit travellers are in Canada.
More specifically, in-transit foreign nationals:
- must enter Canada at one of the five identified CBSA ports of entry (POE): Abbotsford-Huntingdon (British Columbia), Coutts (Alberta), Kingsgate (British Columbia), North Portal (Saskatchewan) and Osoyoos (British Columbia)
- will be allowed a reasonable period of stay to carry out the transit
- will be limited to travel within Canada using the most direct route from the POE to the intended POE of exit, while avoiding all national parks, leisure sites and tourism activities
- will be required, before entering the U.S., to report to the nearest CBSA POE to confirm their exit from Canada
These measures also apply to foreign nationals transiting to the U.S. through Canada from Alaska. However, entry into Canada from Alaska on the northern border is not limited to designated POEs. Additional measures might be imposed at time of entry by a border services officer (BSO).
More information on the stricter rules: https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2020/07/covid-19-stricter-rules-for-foreign-nationals-transiting-through-canada-to-alaska.html
Read about who can travel to Canada during COVID-19: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/travel-restrictions-exemptions.html
Word of the Day:
In-transit: travelling or being taken from one place to another
