At the national convention of the Liberal Party of Canada, held in Montreal on April 9–11, 2026, delegates supported a resolution to eliminate visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens traveling for short-term stays. This is a party decision by the leading political force, not a change to Canada’s immigration rules that has already been adopted.
In the convention’s final documents, this initiative is titled “Eliminating the Visa Requirement for Ukrainian Citizens.” The text of the resolution states that the Liberal Party calls on the Canadian government to abolish the visitor visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens traveling for short-term stays—up to 90 days within a 180-day period. The document also explicitly states that this model should apply only to holders of biometric passports and operate through the “Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA),” as is already the case for many other European countries.
The authors of the resolution argue that visa-free short-term travel could help reunite families, support trade between Canada and Ukraine, and facilitate academic, athletic, and cultural exchanges. The text also notes that Schengen Area countries abolished short-term visas for Ukrainians back in 2017, and that Canada’s CUAET program has demonstrated that Canada is capable of managing a significant flow of Ukrainian travel.
At the same time, it is important to understand that this decision does not mean the automatic implementation of visa-free travel. The Liberal Party has merely formalized this position as its official policy and a call to the government. For visa-free travel to actually take effect, the Canadian federal government must separately amend entry rules and update immigration procedures.
As of now, Canada’s official rules for Ukrainians have not changed. On the government website IRCC, Ukraine remains among the countries whose citizens require a visitor visa to travel to Canada, unless they fall under specific exceptions. The government website itself also explains separately that the eTA is an electronic authorization for travelers who already fall under the category of visa-exempt air passengers, and this system alone does not mean that visa-free travel has automatically been extended to Ukraine.
It is also worth noting that special military measures for Ukrainians in Canada exist, but they do not constitute a visa-free regime in the traditional sense. The Canadian government notes that the CUAET program stopped accepting new applications on July 15, 2023, and as of April 1, 2026, revised temporary support measures are in effect for Ukrainians currently in Canada or applying to extend their status.
In other words, the vote in Montreal is a high-level political signal, but not yet a change in the law or border practices. If Ottawa decides to implement this recommendation, Ukraine could transition to a model of short-term travel to Canada using a biometric passport and an eTA without a traditional visa. However, until the government makes an official decision, Ukrainians must continue to follow the current IRCC regulations.