The federal government announced that it will lift all COVID-19 restrictions, including: proof of vaccination against the pandemic and quarantine requirements at the border, as well as eliminating mandatory random testing, making the ArriveCan app optional, and Canada has lifted the mandatory travel mask requirement on planes and trains. The announcement of the imminent end of these restrictions - effective October 1 - marks a milestone in the country's response to the pandemic.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, other ministers, and public health officials spoke about lifting the pandemic precautions Monday morning in Ottawa. Deciding to allow the special orders, which supported Canada's pandemic permits under the Quarantine Act for months, to expire means: foreign nationals will not need to be vaccinated to enter the country, arriving travelers at major airports will not be subject to mandatory random COVID-19 testing, unvaccinated Canadians will not have to isolate upon return, and travelers will not have to be monitored or report symptoms of illness upon arrival in Canada, as filling out the ArriveCan app before landing will become optional, and wearing a face mask on planes or trains will no longer be necessary.

In the same context, the government said in a statement about these changes: "The removal of border measures has been facilitated by a number of factors, including modeling indicating that Canada has largely passed the peak of the wave driven by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, high vaccination rates in Canada, lower hospitalization and death rates, as well as the availability and use of vaccine boosters and the availability of rapid tests and treatments for COVID-19.