Border-town mayors call for end to Canada's COVID-19 test requirement for travellers

Several border-town mayors on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border held a virtual news conference on Monday morning to call on Canada to nix its pricey COVID-19 test requirement for fully vaccinated travellers. 

The event was held on the same day the U.S. finally reopened its land border to fully vaccinated recreational travellers, after 19 months of closure. 

But the border-town mayors said they aren't fully celebrating just yet, because a big obstacle for travellers still remains: when entering Canada, they must take a molecular test — such as a PCR test — which can cost hundreds of dollars. 

"Now there's a pathway to cross, yet that pathway is dampened by an unreasonable and costly requirement for a PCR test to return to Canada," said Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, Ont., which borders Detroit. 

"This PCR test requirement is a hard stop barrier for families to reunite except for the wealthiest of Canadians, and that is unfair."

Dilkens was joined at the news conference by the mayors of Niagara Falls, Ont., Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Sarnia, Ont., as well as U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins and a representative for the Hotel Association of Canada. 

They argued that while the U.S. land border is now open, the cost of Canada's test requirement will continue to hamper a return to tourism on both sides of the border.

"When you tell a family it's going to cost you another $1,000 to visit us and you won't have any more to eat or a nicer place to stay, they choose not to [come]," said Mayor Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls, Ont. 

When entering Canada, no matter how short their trip, travellers must take a pre-arrival molecular COVID-19 test — such as a PCR test — which can cost anywhere from $150 to $300. Sometimes travellers can get free or discounted tests, but they aren't available in all parts of the U.S., and might not provide results within a traveller's time frame. 

To help ease logistical problems for Canadians taking short trips, Canada now allows people crossing into the U.S. to take their test in Canada and then use it upon their return — as long as it's less than 72 hours old.

But that accommodation doesn't solve the cost problem, and Dilkens argues the 72-hour window defeats the purpose of the test requirement. That's because, he said, a Canadian could take their test in Canada, be exposed to COVID-19 while in the U.S., and then return home with no further testing.

"The current system would allow someone to take a PCR test in Canada, cross into Detroit to cheer on the [Detroit Lions football team] with 65,000 other fans in the stadium, and then return to Canada using the test they took before leaving," he said. 

"How is that test of any use to anyone?"

Canada's test requirement first sparked complaints earlier this month when the U.S. announced it would reopen its land border to fully vaccinated travellers on Nov. 8, and not require them to take a pre-arrival COVID-19 test.