It’s a Mess: Canadian Snowbirds Dealing With a Whole New Set of Travel Rules

February 1, 2021 Jim Byers

Canadian snowbirds who are wintering down south are scrambling for answers after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced tough new testing and quarantine rules last Friday.

Starting as soon as this Thursday, anyone flying into Canada will have to take a PCR test after landing and then go to a hotel while they wait for results, which could take three days. Travellers will have to pay about $2,000 for the hotel stay.

If a traveller tests negative they can go home, but will be under surveillance until they finish their mandatory 14-day quarantine. If they test positive, they’ll have to spend the rest of their 14-day quarantine at a government facility of some kind.

There is talk of testing at land borders, but there are no details yet.

The Justin Trudeau government also announced that all flights from Canada to the Caribbean and Mexico will be suspended until April 30.

Snowbirds in Florida, California, Mexico, the Caribbean and other destinations are obviously worried. We sent an email off to Jill Wykes, Editor of Snowbird Advisor, to get her thoughts.

This clearly has snowbirds nervous. Are you getting calls?

Snowbird Advisor is getting lots of emails asking many questions and expressing anger.   Snowbirds left the country in October or November, long before these measures were announced…..they won’t be coming home until April in most cases.  Many feel they should be exempted from the expensive mandatory hotel stays for that reason. 

Are some people flying or driving home now to avoid the $2,000 hotel quarantine bill?

Yes, we are aware of some snowbirds trying to get home fast but the majority seem to be thinking of staying even longer if necessary…..although obviously they will have to consider how long they are out of Canada and how long they are in the U.S. or they could be offside with provincial health coverage rules, as well as U.S. immigration and tax laws.

Will they stay longer and hope the rules go back to “normal” in May?

Yes

Can they even do that if they want to keep their health insurance?

That’s a question for each insurance company as to whether they will continue coverage and allow extensions. 

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