On Tuesday February 9, during a conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new sanitary instruction when arriving in Canada by land. Starting on that date, a negative test for Covid-19 will be required.

This news must be qualified in order to avoid any confusion. This new instruction is intended only for foreign nationals arriving in Canada by land, in the same way as it is required for nationals arriving in Canada by air. Essential temporary foreign workers are exempt from it.

This instruction may not be required for Canadian citizens as well as for permanent residents. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned on Tuesday, “there is no question of denying access to the country to Canadians who do not have their negative screening test in hand. No, it is not legal for Canada to refuse entry […] if they are Canadian or if they are permanent residents”.