The federal government has announced that it will be suspending mandatory random COVID-19 testing at all airports for vaccinated travellers starting June 11.
Between June 11 and June 30, randomized testing at Canadian airports will be “temporarily suspended,” although unvaccinated travellers will continue to be tested on-site. As of July 1, all testing, including for unvaccinated travellers, will be performed off-site.
"The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that significant wait times at some Canadian airports are having on travellers. We continue to work with airports, airlines, baggage handlers, and other partners to implement solutions to reduce delays as we approach the summer peak season," Transport Canada said in a statement on Friday.
This comes after mounting pressure from the travel and aviation industry calling on the federal government to ease COVID-19 restrictions amid long lines and delays at airports, particularly Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Pearson Airport, had been urging the feds to temporarily pause on-site testing at airports as it expects international passenger numbers to jump by 50 per cent as the summer travel season ramps up.
"This is about much more than Toronto Pearson; it's about global perceptions of our country and the risk that Canada will lose billions of dollars from tourism and business activities if travellers decide that coming to Canada this summer simply isn't worth the hassle," GTAA CEO Deborah Flint said in a statement Thursday on delays at the airport.
The federal government had already exempted international travellers with a connecting flight from being pulled aside for random testing. Transport Canada says it has also hired 865 CATSA screening officers since April.
Other measures, such as COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, remain in place. The federal government says the Public Health Agency of Canada is deploying additional staff to airports to verify ArriveCAN submissions and assist travellers in using the app.
During a virtual media briefing on Friday morning, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam called the random testing of travellers an "early warning system" designed to detect incoming variants.
"We do a randomized sample to select people coming from different areas of the world and are able to detect variants of concern," Tam said.
The travel and aviation industries are welcoming the move to pause random testing at airports, calling it a step in the right direction.
On Twitter, the Canadian Airports Council called the move "a great step forward for travellers and Canada's tourism industry" while the National Airlines Council of Canada said it was "a positive step, rooted in science and evidence, that will improve conditions at Canada's airports and reduce complexity for travellers."
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada also tweeted that they were "thrilled to hear the news today."
"We hope that this becomes permanent and barriers continue to be removed for travel in Canada," the associated tweeted on Friday.
However, the Conservatives say pausing random testing doesn't go far enough and have been calling on the Liberals to lift all remaining COVID-19 travel measures, including vaccine mandates. Conservative transportation critic Melissa Lantsman called the move to pause random testing only to bring it back in July off-site a "poorly thought-out reaction" to the mounting pressure to lift restrictions.
"You cannot travel in this country if you are unvaccinated. You are still resuming testing on July 1. These are not measures. They are half measures. They are a reaction of the U.S., and the government is under pressure, and rightfully so, from Canadians because those lineups at Pearson are an abdication of responsibility by this federal government," Lantsman told CTV's Power Play on Friday.
Even within the Liberal caucus, there have been disagreements over the continuation of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for air and train travellers as well as foreign tourists entering Canada. Northern Ontario Liberal MP Marc Serré told reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday that he believes it's "probably time to move on."
"These mandates were important. There's a high vaccination rate. We have Canadians safe. There's a lot less people that have died here per capita than many other countries. So the mandates worked. The mandates are important, but now it's probably time to move on," he said.
Meanwhile, NDP transportation critic Taylor Bachrach believes the federal government needs to more transparent when it comes to making decisions on public health measures and says the Liberals should have been better prepared for the surge in demand for air travel.
"We need the government to provide the evidence. They need to explain the public health advice that they're getting from Dr. Tam, and they haven't been doing that and people are getting more and more frustrated because they see other jurisdictions that don't have the same public health measures," he said on Friday.
Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.
An 11-year-old boy died Monday after subway surfing in New York City. He's the fourth person to die from subway surfing in the city this year.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.
Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Relatives of a 60-year-old man who took his own life in a Nova Scotia jail after long periods of confinement in his cell have launched a lawsuit against the province.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims -- including three Canadians -- of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a "monster" who raped and sexually abused young women.
An 11-year-old boy died Monday after subway surfing in New York City. He's the fourth person to die from subway surfing in the city this year.
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.
A UN human rights expert warned on Friday that gang violence is spreading across Haiti as a UN-backed mission targeting criminals in the troubled Caribbean country remains underfunded and understaffed.
Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service's performance ahead of a July assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump, according to a new report that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof.
The NDP is asking the Competition Bureau to investigate whether Canadian landlords are using the same AI software that sparked an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.
As Ottawa moves to include graduate students in its cap on international study permits, experts and advocates alike are raising questions about the need for the move, and suggesting it could prompt top talent to look elsewhere.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is convening female foreign ministers from a dozen countries to talk about women's participation in governance and issues like online harassment.
Whooping cough is on track to reach a record number of cases in Ontario while infections climb in eastern provinces and decline in Quebec, but experts say trying to predict the course of the highly contagious disease has been especially difficult this year.
A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.
The Nunavut government says it will provide immunization against respiratory syncytial virus to all infants in the territory this fall, a policy change that one pediatric infectious diseases specialist has been advocating for decades.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
NASA scientists have successfully replicated spider-like shapes found on the surface of Mars in a laboratory setting for the first time.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
It will be the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge as a memorial is held Friday in Calgary.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was arrested this week on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was ordered to remain in custody until his federal trial in New York. CNN spoke to several legal experts to try to understand what lies ahead for Combs and for those in his orbit.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
A labour strike at Boeing showed no signs of ending Friday, as the walkout by 33,000 union machinists entered its eighth day and the company started rolling furloughs of nonunion employees to conserve cash.
A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.
A new study has found that engaging in creative activities can significantly boost well-being by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.
A new study found that food fussiness in children is “a largely genetic trait,” while other factors, such as the types of foods eaten at home and where meals are eaten, may only be significant when the child is a toddler.
A huge king penguin chick named Pesto, who weighs as much as both his parents combined, has become a social media celebrity and a star attraction at an Australian aquarium.
Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.
Formula One points leader Max Verstappen was ordered to 'accomplish some work of public interest' after uttering an inappropriate word Thursday at the news conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.
The seats from a stolen e-bike that was customized for a Surrey, B.C., child with complex health needs have been recovered – but the bike itself has yet to be found.
Thousands of protesters are expected to march into downtown Vancouver on Friday, demanding more action from their government to address the growing climate crisis.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.
Michael Ford, Ontario's minister of citizenship and multiculturalism, says he is taking a leave of absence from cabinet to prioritize his health.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is urging the Alberta government to preserve pieces of the massive Green Line transit project now being dissolved.
It will be the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge as a memorial is held Friday in Calgary.
It's billed as 'Canada’s Largest Halloween Festival' and it's taken weeks to set up over 10,000 carved pumpkins that transform the WinSport bobsleigh track into a spooky spectacle.
Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.
Maplewood Secondary School is scheduled to open Monday after receiving a permit Friday morning allowing 50 per cent of the building to be occupied.
Police in western Quebec say a driver has been arrested after almost crashing into a school bus near La Pêche Friday morning.
Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.
A new garden and microforest, years in the making, have been inaugurated at John Abbott College in Montreal.
The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.
Mounties say there was an increased police presence in the Emerald Hills area of Sherwood Park on Friday morning as officers searched for a man who is wanted by police.
There are plenty of fun happenings in Edmonton this weekend. It's time to savour that last little bit of the summer season before the leaves really start coming down.
Alberta Health Services says an E. coli outbreak at a daycare in Blackfalds has ended.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Relatives of a 60-year-old man who took his own life in a Nova Scotia jail after long periods of confinement in his cell have launched a lawsuit against the province.
A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
A Manitoba veterinary clinic has two new ways of figuring out what’s causing a horse to be lame.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
A large police presence can be seen outside Regina’s Miller High School on Friday afternoon.
A 21-year-old man from Codette, Sask. is facing numerous charges in connection to a fatal crash near Wapella, Sask. Wednesday night that claimed the life of a 22-year-old Alberta woman.
Arguments between UR Pride and the Government of Saskatchewan on the Parents’ Bill of Rights will be moving ahead to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan beginning on Monday, Sept. 23.
Levels of hydrogen sulfide gas are being monitored at Brantford Collegiate Institute after a leak in their geothermal system.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Transport Canada has issued a recall for 38,000 General Motors (GM) vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, the agency reported in a notice on Wednesday.
The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.
A 69-year-old woman from Outlook, Saskatchewan is dead and three people are injured after a truck and SUV collided on Highway 15 on Thursday.
A garage fire in Saskatoon’s Willows neighbourhood on Friday narrowly missed igniting an attached home, according to the fire department.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
A man is in hospital with life threatening injuries following a collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle on Friday afternoon.
Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and supportetrs greatly outnumbered the people attending a '1 Million March 4 Children' event along Central Avenue.
The Elgin Community Health Hub, operated by the Thames Valley Family Health Team, is accepting new patients to a model where doctors are rarely seen.
Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.
Provincial police are investigating vandalism in Huntsville after the "senseless destruction" of flower displays along Main Street East.
A 17-year-old from Markham is facing serious charges after an August 11 shooting at a party in Caledon.
Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family’s backyard pool.
There is no threats to public safety following an incident involving a gun at a local high school.
A LaSalle couple has won $1 million after buying a ticket for the Aug. 13 LottoMax draw.
New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.
The Old Man Lake wildfire near Sooke is the only one currently burning on Vancouver Island. It’s a region of the province that this year saw a drastic drop in blazes in the backcountry.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) has declared a state of emergency in all 14 of its member First Nations due to a mental health and opioid crisis.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.
A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.
A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
Ontario Provincial Police say three suspects from southern Ontario have been charged and drugs worth $300,000 have been seized following a traffic stop Sept. 16.
A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
