Today, January 7th 2021 marks the day that any travelers flying back to Canada from outside our borders will need to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result prior to boarding their flights. The test must be administered within 72 hours of your planned departure time and if you don't meet the requirements you are to be denied boarding by the airline. This new requirement is in place for all travellers aged 5 years and up and is for both Canadian and foreign nationals.
Having a negative test result prior to return does not negate your requirement to quarantine for 14 days upon return to Canada. In fact this new testing regulation is over and above the quarantine rule with the only exception being the rapid testing project in Calgary which can lessen the amount of days you'll need to quarantine.
This new requirement from the Government of Canada is something you'll really need to take into consideration if you are planning any travel outside our borders. If you do travel internationally you need to make sure the country you will be departing from has the facilities for you to be tested within those three days prior to travel and the ability to get the results in time to show the airline at boarding that you have a negative result. Not only that, you have to make sure it is an approved type of test as not all testing regimens will be accepted.
I think this will curb a lot of Canadians from making any further travel plans for the time being as it adds extra stress and planning on the individual. In reality the federal and provincial governments have discouraged international travel since the onset of the pandemic except for essential travel and this new requirement should help travellers abide by our Government's recommendations. However those essential travelers will also need to take this new rule into consideration and if you are supposed to go for a one or two day business trip you may want to change that to a Zoom meeting instead.
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