Vaccine mandate, border restrictions entering Canada to be removed

A mandate that previously required travelers entering Canada to be vaccinated against COVID-19 has been dropped, the Canadian government confirmed Monday.

The changes are set to be effective Oct. 1.

The impact will largely be felt in MLB where multiple teams still have unvaccinated players on their roster. All season, we’ve seen clubs there placing players on reserve lists ahead of trips to play the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the NHL, there are just two players that remain unvaccinated based on publically available knowledge: Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Josh Archibald.

“The removal of border measures has been facilitated by a number of factors, including modeling, that indicates that Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4- and BA.5-fueled wave, Canada’s high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, as well as the availability and use of vaccine boosters (including new bivalent formulation), rapid tests, and treatments for COVID-19,” the government said in a statement.

While this would free up unvaccinated travelers to head north of the border, restrictions are still in place for the United States. American lawmakers, meanwhile, are seeking changes to those restrictions.

“Recent reports indicate that the Canadian government is planning to terminate its vaccination requirements for Americans and other non-citizens entering the country in the coming days,” Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester wrote to Homeland Security, Global News reported late last week.