To be honest, a notification in the app makes more sense to me, as with e-mails there's a higher possibility something goes wrong. Did I mention spam-filters already?

However, test results within 4 days is what makes this entire testing absurd. 4 days during I may happily infect everyone. Yeah, sure, that's protecting Canada from the the spread of Covid-19, I fully agree... NOT!

Does someone know how it works with isolation for a tourist? A resident of Canada may isolates at home. But a tourist? When you first have 2 days to take the test and then it may takes up to 4 days 'till you get a positive result, it's hard to guess where exactly you'd be at that time, particularly if you're on a road-trip. Maybe not at the address (anymore) you put in ArriveCAN. Imagine you're staying in a quite expensive hotel at the time you learn you've tested positive. Are you supposed to stay in that very hotel for another 10 days from that time on? What if the hotel hasn't availability for the entire time of your isolation? Is it permitted to change to a (maybe cheaper) place to sit out the period of isolation? To me this is a different story than to have a place for a mandatory quarantine period right after entering Canada (as for the unvaccinated). There you know you'll have to quarantine and can organize a place to do so in time.

And do you have to notify the authorities by phone or mail about where you isolate, particularly if the place is different from the one you put in ArriveCAN?

If I'm in the country for four days, wait until close to the end of the second day to take a test, and then wait another four days to get the test results back... I could already be sitting back at home. Then the alert comes through that I've tested positive. Okay, Canada, what do you want me to do? Fly back to isolate?

END THIS MADNESS!

The random testing is mostly to monitor potential new variants. Not justifying it but that is the main reason why they chose to bring it back.

Then why have they included a mandatory quarantine if you test positive that specifically says it overrules any provincial quarantine rules? Feels pretty obviously punative to me.

While trying to monitor potential new variants is an admirable task, the fact that 95% of passengers can go unchecked while the remaining 5% get tested but potentially spread the disease while awaiting test results just doesn't make sense. To me anyway. If they want to track new variants, then surely they should be testing absolutely everyone who arrives and make them quarantine until their results return back negative. Otherwise the whole thing just feels... pointless.

I don't think most of what they've been doing has been about logic. Politicians will be politicians, pandemic or not.

No, if they want surveillance for new variants they should have sample collection across an equal subset of travelers arriving from various countries and that's all. No quarantine or waiting on results BS.

We didn't get chosen - and I must admit the Canadian border experience was one of the smoothest I've ever experienced.

Flying into YTZ, no random testing?
 

Planning a trip to Toronto and really want to avoid any possibility of being caught up in this new testing clownshow. If flying Porter from one of the US destinations into YTZ, I am assuming that this will avoid the possibility of being selected for testing? All reports mention the 4 major Canadian gateways, with Pearson specifically for Toronto.

That's correct as of now. YTZ is excluded from arrival testing.

Out of curiosity, how long are you in a Canada for? Wonder if they base their “random” selection on length of time in the country.

Fair, but I guess the problem is that if you had gotten chosen you probably would not be saying it was a smooth experience. And there in lies the challenge/concern with "random" testing.

Regards

Very true!

We are here about three weeks.

Does anyone have recent experiences on random tests crossing the border at Niagara / Rainbow Bridge?

I will visit Canada mid september, and Niagara Falls will be one of my first attractions to visit after entering Canada via YYZ. Unfortunately, it's too late to change my flights to avoid the 4 airports where the random testing is still going on, as I'm flying on an award AC ticket booked a long time ago.

Particularly because I'm also a collector of Hard Rock Cafe items, I'm thinking about crossing the Rainbow Bridge to visit the HRC on the US side of the falls. Would return the same day, maybe even within 1 to 2 hours. However, I don't think this (length of stay in the US) matters for (not) being selected for a random test. But would I be sent to test even if I was already selected at YYZ with the result not even known by the time I'd re-enter Canada via Rainbow Bridge?

No random tests outside of YYZ/YUL/YYC and YVR. No land borders have random tests.