OTTAWA — Inter-provincial travel restrictions are set to be lifted this week, the latest victory in Canada’s long road to recovery.

As confirmed by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, the government will not be extending the order that restricted non-essential travel between Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. The order, first announced on April 16 in response to Ontario’s third wave of COVID-19, will expire at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 16.

Those entering Ontario “must continue to follow the public health measures in place in the province,” said Jones in a statement.

Under the ban, access was limited to essential travel only, including essential workers and anyone travelling for medical care, transportation of goods and exercising indigenous treaty rights. Those without a valid reason for entering Ontario were turned back. 

Jones announced the news yesterday, June 14, as Ontario reported 447 new cases of COVID-19, a slight decrease from the 525 cases reported a week before. 

The news also comes on the heels of last week’s announcement by Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc that Canada’s mandatory three-day hotel quarantine will be gradually lifted starting as early as July for fully vaccinated Canadians returning from abroad, essential workers, foreign students and other eligible travellers.