Guide to Canada Air Travel Changes (2026) | Flights, Baggage, Delays and Passenger-Rights Checklist

Updated: 2026-06-17 | eTA fees, compensation amounts and entry procedures are subject to change; the official announcements prevail

Many people assume that the thing to worry about most when flying to Canada is the airfare, but what actually throws a trip into disarray is usually the handful of things not sorted out before departure: getting stopped for overweight baggage, leaving too little time for a connection, or a flight being delayed without knowing whether you can claim compensation. This article organizes the air-travel changes you will actually encounter flying from Taiwan to Canada into a pre-departure checklist, and clearly marks the parts where the rules change easily and must follow official sources, so that you don’t read old information and assume you’re set once and for all.

Whether you’re flying to Toronto, Vancouver, or connecting through the United States, there are three things at the “if you don’t handle it, you won’t get on the plane” level. We recommend confirming them at least two weeks before departure, and rechecking once again right before you leave: the travel authorization (eTA), your flight and connection arrangements, and the baggage rules.

First, the eTA. Holders of a passport from a visa-exempt country, such as Taiwan (a passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), flying into Canada must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) in advance. According to Canada’s official information, the eTA application fee is CAD 7; once approved it is valid for up to 5 years and allows multiple entries, with each short stay usually up to 6 months. Two points deserve special attention: first, the eTA applies only to entry “by air” — entering Canada from the United States by land or by sea does not require an eTA; second, U.S. citizens holding a valid U.S. passport are exempt from the eTA when flying. The fee and who it applies to may be adjusted by officials, so be sure to apply only through Canada’s official website, to avoid being misled by high-charging third-party agent websites.

If a flight is delayed or canceled, can you claim compensation?

This is the part most people are unclear about. Canada has a set of Air Passenger Protection Regulations, administered by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). The key point is this: the compensation amount depends on whether the delay was “within the airline’s control and not for safety reasons,” and on the length of the delay in your arrival at your final destination. In other words, delays caused by factors such as weather or safety-related maintenance usually fall outside the scope of monetary compensation. According to the standards published officially by the CTA, when a delay is within the airline’s control, is not for safety reasons, and the arrival at the final destination is delayed by 3 hours or more, the cash compensation amounts are as follows:

To obtain compensation, several conditions must also be met: the notice of the flight disruption was received within 14 days before departure, and the delay was indeed within the airline’s control and not for safety reasons. Compensation is not credited automatically; you need to submit a written compensation claim to the airline within 1 year after the delay or cancellation occurs; if the airline does not respond within 30 days, or you are dissatisfied with how it was handled, you can then file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). A small practical reminder: the moment a flight has a problem, first keep your boarding pass, itinerary, screenshots of the delay announcement, and any meal or accommodation receipts — these are the basis for a later compensation claim. The compensation tiers and applicable rules are continually updated by officials; the table above is for preliminary judgment only, and the official amounts and eligibility should follow the CTA’s official page.

Practical details on baggage, connections, and entry

There is no such thing as a “Canada-wide uniform standard” for baggage rules; they depend on the cabin class you bought, the airline, and even the different segments of the same trip. Common pitfalls include: assuming you can bring two carry-on pieces, only discovering on the return leg that the checked allowance is less than on the outbound, or the size limit being stricter on the connecting segment. Before departure, go directly to the website of the airline that issued the ticket and check the baggage allowance for your particular ticket — that’s more accurate than asking around. A few key points: the number, weight, and size of checked and carry-on pieces follow what you find on the airline’s official website for your ticket, and budget airlines mostly require purchasing extra; for lost or damaged baggage, you must file a report immediately at the airport counter upon arrival and keep the baggage tag and the report form, so there is a basis for a later claim; lithium batteries and power banks must always be carried on and may not be checked — this is a common rule across airlines and airport security.

As for connections, many routes from Taiwan to Canada connect in the United States (such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Seattle) or in Asian cities, and the things most likely to go wrong are the “connection time” and “immigration clearance.” If you connect in the United States, even just in transit, you mostly still need to pass U.S. immigration inspection, collect your baggage, and re-check it, which eats up a lot of time; when buying tickets, don’t look only at the total flight hours — check whether the connection layover is sufficient. After arriving in Canada, all travelers must still make a declaration to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The ArriveCAN, vaccination, testing, and quarantine requirements that were mandatory during the pandemic were lifted in 2022, and now entering Canada does not require ArriveCAN; however, ArriveCAN still keeps an optional “Advance CBSA Declaration” feature, and if you fly into a participating airport such as Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, or Montreal Trudeau, you can complete your customs and immigration declaration before arrival to save queuing time after landing — this is a value-added option, not a mandatory requirement.

Pulling this together into a final pre-departure check: confirm your passport has enough validity remaining and that your Taiwan passport has obtained a valid eTA (for entry by air); confirm the flight status, the connection time, and whether you need to clear immigration in the connecting country; check the number, weight, and size of baggage pieces according to your ticket, and carry power banks on you; prepare travel insurance and understand the claim conditions for delays and lost baggage; if a delay occurs, first keep the evidence (boarding pass, screenshots of the announcement, receipts), then judge whether you meet the compensation eligibility. When planning the whole trip, you can use our Canada Life Guide to learn the practical information for after you land, or first read the Canada Attractions to settle on the cities and itinerary, then come back to nail down the flight and connection times.

A final reminder: air-travel rules, compensation amounts, eTA fees, and entry procedures may all change. What this article organizes is which items you should check before departure and the current official standards; the actual basis is the announcements on the official pages of the airline, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and others.