by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 12:10 PM ET, Wed November 12, 2025
Global Affairs updated its travel advice for Canadians heading to the U.S. yesterday, warning that the shutdown of the American government and subsequent flight cancellations and delays are causing trouble for travellers.
Travellers are reminded to check with their airline to see if their trip is affected and to expect longer than usual waits at the airport.
The warning did not affect the travel risk level, which remains at green/take normal security precautions.
This warning is the latest update Ottawa has issued about travelling to the United States in the last several months. Other updates have included warnings for people with an X gender identifier on their passport and Canadians who live in the U.S. who may have their visa eligibility revoked. Security updates at border crossings on the American side have also prompted advisories, informing Canadians their electronics are subject to search and that those staying in the U.S. longer than a month may be fingerprinted and photographed.
Insurance Limitations for Flight Interruptions
Elsewhere, Canadians are being warned that their travel insurance may not cover them if they are caught up in the travel chaos south of us.
Bloomberg News quoted Marty Firestone, president of Toronto-based insurance firm Travel Secure Inc. as saying insurance purchased after the travel advisory was issued will likely not cover costs incurred due to shutdown-related delays.
"After that date, any purchase of a policy will not cover anything related to the government shutdown or related air controller issues," he said.
Insurance companies don’t cover known or foreseeable events, and travel interruptions in the U.S. can be reasonably expected now.
"The key here for this specific situation is having insurance in place before the advisory went in place, because now it's considered a 'known event,'" Matt Hands, vice-president of insurance at Ratehub told the Canadian Press.
Airlines will still be responsible for issuing refunds for cancelled flights and travellers may have coverage through their credit card, but they are advised to check the fine print, as there may be limitations, for example, only trips purchased on the card could be covered.
There has been progress made on ending the shutdown, which is the longest in the history of the United States. However, even once the government re-opens, it will take some time for airlines and airports to recover from the difficulties the shutdown has caused and to resume normal operations.
Topics From This Article to Explore
