LAST UPDATED: December 20, 2021

As of December 21, 2021, all Canadians travelling outside Canada on short trips of less than 72 hours will once again be required to obtain a negative molecular pre-arrival COVID test within 72 hours prior to their return to Canada.

For travellers arriving by air, the test must be administered within 72 hours of their flight’s departure time.

For travellers arriving by land, the test must be administered within 72 hours of their arrival at the land border.

In addition, the government added a new requirement that the pre-arrival COVID test must be performed in a country other than Canada. This means that travellers will not be able to take a COVID test in Canada prior to departing on their trip and use that same COVID test as their pre-arrival test when returning to Canada, even if the test was taken less than 72 hours prior to their return to Canada.

The government had previously exempted Canadians making short trips of less than 72 hours from the requirement to provide a negative pre-arrival COVID test upon their return to Canada, but reimposed the requirement due to concerns about the new Omicron variant.

You can find the official news release from the Government of Canada here.