Random COVID-19 testing returns Tuesday at Canada’s 4 major airports

If you’re travelling back to Canada from an international trip through four of the country’s major airports — Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto — you may be selected for a random COVID-19 test starting Tuesday.

Ottawa has brought back mandatory random testing after the federal government halted it on June 11. However, new for this round, testing will be done offsite either by an in-person appointment at select testing provider locations and pharmacies, or by a virtual appointment for a self-swab test.

Travellers will be notified by an email within 15 minutes of completing the CBSA’s customs declaration. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers could be selected for the test.

According to the federal government, travellers who do not qualify as fully vaccinated, unless exempt, must continue to test on day one and day eight of their mandatory 14-day quarantine. If selected for the random test, unvaccinated travellers will be able to complete their tests by a virtual appointment or by an in-person appointment with a test provider at select stores or pharmacies to stay within their mandatory quarantine requirements.

To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller to Canada, travellers must have been vaccinated with a primary series of a COVID-19 vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada for the purpose of travel at least two weeks before entering Canada.

According to a government handout, if a traveller’s arrival test result is positive, they must go into isolation and follow the federal requirement to isolate for 10 days from the date of the test result. Even if the isolation requirement is shorter in a traveller’s province or territory, the federal government requires the full 10 days of isolation.

Meantime, random testing continues at land border points of entry.

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