Canada's COVID-19 border measures data

Overview

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has taken action to limit the introduction and spread of the virus in our country, based on the public health measures from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) as well as the provinces and territories. As the pandemic situation evolved, Canada's COVID-19 measures at the border changed.

Effective October 1, 2022, COVID-19 entry restrictions were removed, as well as testing, quarantine and isolation requirements, regardless of citizenship and vaccination status. On January 5, 2023, temporary pre-boarding testing was introduced for travellers flying from People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao and removed on March 17, 2023.

The Government of Canada continues to monitor the situation. Visit COVID-19: Travel, testing and borders for more information.

Fines

As a result, this table will only be updated if and when more information is received.

In 2020, the Government of Canada amended the Contraventions Regulations to allow enforcement authorities to issue fines for Quarantine Act offences. As of June 4, 2021, fines were fixed with most set at $5,000 for adults, plus applicable provincial surcharges. Other fines were set at lower amounts.

Enforcement authorities can't issue fines under the Contraventions Regulations in:

Alberta
Saskatchewan
the territories

While ticketing under the Contraventions Regulations is unavailable in these jurisdictions, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or municipal police services can take enforcement actions under the Quarantine Act and the Criminal Code.

In Québec, enforcement agencies submit cases to provincial prosecutors for their decision on whether fines should be issued. Numbers presented below reflect cases that PHAC has been made aware of being submitted to prosecutors for enforcement decision.

While PHAC works closely with local law enforcement and receives data on most enforcement activities taken under the Quarantine Act, police services aren't required to send enforcement information to PHAC. As such, there may be enforcement actions not accounted for in this data.

Number of fines issued for non-compliance

As a result, this table will only be updated if and when more information is received.

Law enforcement agencies voluntarily reported their enforcement activities in relation to COVID-19 to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The table lists the most common reasons fines were issued.

Data source: Public Health Agency of Canada

Reported fines issued for *Quarantine Act* offences, April 14, 2020, to September 29, 2022
Province or territory	Grand total	Refusing to go to Government Approved Accommodations	Arriving without a valid pre-entry test	Refusing arrival testing	Breach of quarantine	Fraud	ArriveCAN non-compliance	Multiple offences	Other reasons
Total	19,556	8,248	4,877	1,269	601	141	1,237	282	2,721
BC	2,714	817	1,134	109	155	13	183	0	303
AB^{Footnote 1}	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SK^{Footnote 1}	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
MB	718	1	540	0	33	20	20	0	104
ON	11,851	6,075	2,579	1,059	70	65	991	0	1,012
QC^{Footnote 2}	4,212	1,535	607	101	321	43	39	282	1,284
NB	44	0	17	0	7	0	3	0	17
NS	15	0	0	0	13	0	1	0	1
PE	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
NL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
YT^{Footnote 1}	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
NT^{Footnote 1}	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
NU^{Footnote 1}	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Footnote 1 Enforcement authorities can't issue fines under the Contraventions Regulations in this province/territory. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 In Quebec, fines are issued by provincial prosecutors and not directly by the enforcement agencies. Numbers presented here reflect cases that PHAC has been made aware of being submitted to prosecutors who may wish to pursue issuing a fine. Return to footnote 2 referrer

Government-authorized accommodations

Beginning February 21, 2021, international air travellers, unless exempt, were required to pre-book a 3-night stay at a government-authorized accommodation (GAA) where they would await the results of their arrival test for COVID-19. The GAA requirement ended on July 5, 2021, for fully vaccinated travellers who met all other entry requirements, and August 9, 2021, for all other travellers.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) had a number of ways of monitoring traveller compliance with the GAA requirement, and focusing on addressing the highest risks in order to limit the spread of the virus. This included:

designing the government-authorized accommodations (GAA) model to incentivize compliance from the onset, with the requirement for travellers to pre-book a non-refundable GAA stay, or otherwise be subject to fines
verification by Canada Border Services Agency of traveller compliance upon arrival at the port of entry (to ensure travellers had proof that they had booked a 3-night stay at a GAA)
referring non-compliant travellers to PHAC at the port of entry who supported them to become compliant by facilitating booking a GAA onsite. Travellers who remained non-compliant were subject to enforcement (for example, fines) as determined by the PHAC officer at the point of entry.
post-border monitoring and following up on known or potential non-compliance (versus tracking compliance of who checked-in to a GAA), including:
- travellers not checking in per booking (GAAs were required to submit reports of non-compliance to PHAC)
- travellers who didn't check in and requested refunds
- travellers claiming to have been exempted at the border

In addition, one of the most important actions undertaken by PHAC to minimize virus spread was calling every positive traveller to inform them of the requirement to isolate, and walk them through exactly what that means.

Test volumes and positivity rates

To learn more about test volumes and positivity rates, visit COVID-19 Canada Border Testing Program.

Variants

Genetic variations of viruses are common and expected. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, naturally develops mutations over time. Mutations are changes to the genetic material in the virus.

From February 22, 2021, to September 30, 2022, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sequenced positive COVID-19 test samples collected through the border testing program. Whole genome sequencing is the laboratory process used to identify variants from positive test samples. This program was complementary to other domestic genomic surveillance programs that are still active.

The graph shows the percentage mix of COVID-19 variants detected in travellers entering Canada. You can filter the results by port of entry type (air or land). To change it, use the dropdown menu above the graph. You can see the numbers for each week by hovering over, tabbing to, or long-pressing any of the bars. To see a specific variant or variant grouping, click or press return. Repeat to restore the complete graph.

COVID-19 variants detected in travellers entering Canada

Effective October 1, 2022, COVID-19 entry restrictions were removed, as well as testing, quarantine and isolation requirements, regardless of citizenship and vaccination status. The Public Health Agency of Canada no longer collects COVID-19 test samples from travellers entering Canada.

As a result, this table is no longer updated.

Note: Between January 5, 2023, and March 17, 2023, temporary pre-boarding testing was in effect for travellers flying from People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao. These test results aren’t included here.

Data source: Public Health Agency of Canada

Number of travellers to Canada

Effective October 1, 2022, COVID-19 border entry restrictions were removed. In addition, testing, quarantine and isolation requirements were removed, regardless of citizenship and vaccination status.

For general information on monthly traveller volumes by port of entry, visit the Open Government Portal.

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Date modified:: 2023-06-23

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