Canada to Require Vaccine Mandate for Air Travelers

(CNN) - Canada will require most commercial passengers traveling by air, rail or large ship to be fully vaccinated by fall.

The vaccination requirement "includes all commercial air travelers, passengers on inter-provincial trains and passengers on large, marine vessels with overnight accommodations such as cruise ships," said Omar Alghabra, Canada's transport minister, during a virtual press conference Friday.

The Canadian government also will mandate that all federal employees be fully vaccinated by the end of October.

Canadian ministers speaking at the press conference indicated that they wanted to "set an example" for other employers and Canadians as they continue to try and safely reopen more sectors of the economy.

In a statement released after the announcement, Air Canada said it supported the new mandate and said it was in line with science-based procedures for safe travel.

Canada has recently started to allow international leisure travelers across its borders, beginning with vaccinated Americans this week. There are tentative plans to extend discretionary travel to other vaccinated international visitors to Canada in early September.