By McInnes Cooper
Sometime in late September or early October, 2025, the Government of Canada added an advisory to its U.S. travel advice page for 2SLGBTQ+ Canadian passport holders: “While the Government of Canada issues passports with an ‘X’ gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries”; “[y]ou might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the ‘X’ gender identifier.” Even before this addition, Canadians – especially members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community – were expressing concern about travel to the U.S. For example, in February 2025 Egale Canada boycotted a UN Forum over its safety concerns for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. And many Canadians, at odds with the Trump administration’s views, have refused to travel to the U.S. for a variety of reasons: for example, in June 2025 Statistics Canada reported the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States was down 28.7% year over year.
So, can employees refuse to travel to the U.S.? To help you navigate employee travel to the U.S., here are the answers to three FAQs.
1. Can you require employees to travel to the U.S.?
Generally, you can require an employee to travel to the U.S. if travel to the U.S. is one of the following:
- Implied by the nature of their role.
- Expressly stated in their employment contract.
- Expressly stated in their job description.
However, this requirement is not absolute: employees may have a right to refuse to travel to the U.S. in certain cases.
- On what basis can an employee refuse to travel to the U.S.?
There are two main legal routes under which an employee might refuse to travel to the U.S.
Occupational Health & Safety Legislation. All Canadian provinces and territories have occupational health and safety legislation that obligates employers to provide a safe workplace. Generally speaking, while the specific wording varies, all such legislation also gives employees the right to refuse to do any act where the employee has reasonable grounds for believing that the act is likely to endanger their health or safety or the health or safety of any other person. The “reasonable” belief requirement typically requires that the belief be supported by objective facts at the time of the refusal. Similarly, there must typically be a risk of endangerment to the employee’s health or safety; a mere negative impact on an employee is not usually sufficient to trigger protection under occupational health and safety laws. Employers have an obligation to provide a safe workplace and to consider an employee refusal to perform unsafe work. It is possible that an employee could claim that travel to the U.S. constitutes unsafe work and seek protection under occupational health and safety legislation.
Human Rights Legislation. All Canadian provinces and territories also have human rights legislation prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of certain protected personal characteristics. While the exact wording of protected characteristics varies, all provinces and territories prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender – which may include gender, gender identity, and/or gender expression depending on the legislation. Employees could also raise concerns based on other protected grounds such as race, colour, or disability. Human rights legislation requires employers to accommodate employees to the point of undue hardship. Requiring employees to travel to the U.S. regardless of valid concerns that they will suffer discrimination on the basis of a protected personal characteristic could trigger the duty to accommodate the employee to the point of undue hardship. Imposing adverse consequences on an employee with valid safety concerns about travel to the U.S., and/or a failure to accommodate such employees to the point of undue hardship, could lead to a human rights complaint.
3. What do I do if an employee refuses to travel to the U.S.?
As proactive measures:
Employment Contracts. Specify terms of travel in employment agreements and/or job descriptions to set clear expectations of employees from the outset of the employment relationship.
Procedures. Develop and implement procedures for handling employee refusals to travel and ensure all managers and human resources professionals are trained on these procedures. Follow a consistent approach, but assess refusals on a case-by-case basis based on the most recent information available.
Policies. Review and update internal travel policies as required. Be mindful that in some cases you may have employees who are denied entry to the U.S.
If an employee refuses to travel to the U.S.:
Take the Refusal Seriously. Don’t dismiss a travel refusal at face value; take it seriously.
Thoroughly Assess the Refusal. At the same time, don’t simply accept the refusal at face value either. Assess the refusal fairly and objectively. Ensure the assessment is individualized and done on a case-by-case basis. This means:
- Identify the grounds for the refusal.
- Identify the risk the employee alleges.
- Investigate whether the risk is objective. Note that while travel advisories may be indicative, they aren’t necessarily determinative of an objective risk.
- Discuss options and alternatives with the employee.
- Make a decision and communicate the decision to the employee.
Document the Process. As with all processes, document the employee’s refusal, their reasons for refusal, and the process undertaken to investigate and adjudicate the refusal.
This article is information only; it is not legal advice. McInnes Cooper excludes all liability for anything contained in or any use of this article. © McInnes Cooper, 2025. All rights reserved.
