Canada to ‘align’ with U.S. airport screening rules as TSA drops shoes-off policy

A traveller walks to security screening at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Sept. 18, 2024. (Ethan Cairns / The Canadian Press)

OTTAWA — Ottawa says it will work to align its flight security regulations with those in the U.S. after Washington dropped a rule that required passengers to remove their shoes during security screenings.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday that passengers at American airports no longer need to remove their shoes because officials have found other ways to keep travellers safe.

Canada does not require passengers flying domestically or to non-U.S. destinations to take off their shoes for screening, unless a security officer decides it’s necessary.

But those flying to the U.S. through the pre-clearance sections of Canadian airports have been required to remove their shoes.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration introduced the no-shoes rule roughly five years after Richard Reid, who became infamous as the “shoe bomber,” tried to trigger explosives hidden in his shoes on a Paris to Miami flight in 2001.

Transport Canada says in a statement it “will work with the Transportation Security Administration to ensure requirements are aligned.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press