diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
index c3b24f50f..de0c20d4e 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_repair_shards.c
@@ -43,12 +43,6 @@
 #include "utils/lsyscache.h"
 #include "utils/palloc.h"
 
-
-#define TRANSFER_MODE_AUTOMATIC 'a'
-#define TRANSFER_MODE_FORCE_LOGICAL 'l'
-#define TRANSFER_MODE_BLOCK_WRITES 'b'
-
-
 /* local function forward declarations */
 static char LookupShardTransferMode(Oid shardReplicationModeOid);
 static void ErrorIfTableCannotBeReplicated(Oid relationId);
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/node_metadata.c b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/node_metadata.c
index 4cc9f5d17..768a9e1df 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/node_metadata.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/node_metadata.c
@@ -60,6 +60,12 @@ int GroupSize = 1;
 /* config variable managed via guc.c */
 char *CurrentCluster = "default";
 
+/*
+ * Config variable to control whether we should replicate reference tables on
+ * node activation or we should defer it to shard creation.
+ */
+bool ReplicateReferenceTablesOnActivate = true;
+
 /* did current transaction modify pg_dist_node? */
 bool TransactionModifiedNodeMetadata = false;
 
@@ -381,6 +387,12 @@ SetUpDistributedTableDependencies(WorkerNode *newWorkerNode)
 		ReplicateAllDependenciesToNode(newWorkerNode->workerName,
 									   newWorkerNode->workerPort);
 
+		if (ReplicateReferenceTablesOnActivate)
+		{
+			ReplicateAllReferenceTablesToNode(newWorkerNode->workerName,
+											  newWorkerNode->workerPort);
+		}
+
 		/*
 		 * Let the maintenance daemon do the hard work of syncing the metadata.
 		 * We prefer this because otherwise node activation might fail within
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c b/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
index 1df2b8eaf..b3590663c 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
 #include "distributed/multi_server_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/pg_dist_partition.h"
 #include "distributed/placement_connection.h"
+#include "distributed/reference_table_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/relation_access_tracking.h"
 #include "distributed/run_from_same_connection.h"
 #include "distributed/query_pushdown_planning.h"
@@ -1370,6 +1371,16 @@ RegisterCitusConfigVariables(void)
 		GUC_NO_SHOW_ALL,
 		NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
+	DefineCustomBoolVariable(
+		"citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate",
+		NULL,
+		NULL,
+		&ReplicateReferenceTablesOnActivate,
+		true,
+		PGC_USERSET,
+		GUC_NO_SHOW_ALL,
+		NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
 	/* warn about config items in the citus namespace that are not registered above */
 	EmitWarningsOnPlaceholders("citus");
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/sql/citus--9.2-4--9.3-2.sql b/src/backend/distributed/sql/citus--9.2-4--9.3-2.sql
index 25ba9cba0..f8c3b14f9 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/sql/citus--9.2-4--9.3-2.sql
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/sql/citus--9.2-4--9.3-2.sql
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@
 
 #include "udfs/citus_extradata_container/9.3-2.sql"
 #include "udfs/update_distributed_table_colocation/9.3-2.sql"
-#include "udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-1.sql"
+#include "udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-2.sql"
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/sql/udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-1.sql b/src/backend/distributed/sql/udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-2.sql
similarity index 100%
rename from src/backend/distributed/sql/udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-1.sql
rename to src/backend/distributed/sql/udfs/replicate_reference_tables/9.3-2.sql
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
index 923a008ee..ecf75ee23 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/reference_table_utils.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "distributed/master_metadata_utility.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_sync.h"
+#include "distributed/multi_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_logical_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/reference_table_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/relation_access_tracking.h"
@@ -38,11 +39,12 @@
 #include "utils/lsyscache.h"
 #include "utils/rel.h"
 
-
 /* local function forward declarations */
-static List * WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(uint64 shardId);
-static void CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNode(ShardPlacement *sourceShardPlacement,
-										   WorkerNode *workerNode, const char *userName);
+static List * WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(uint64 shardId, LOCKMODE lockMode);
+static StringInfo CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNodeQuery(
+	ShardPlacement *sourceShardPlacement,
+	WorkerNode *workerNode,
+	char transferMode);
 static void ReplicateSingleShardTableToAllNodes(Oid relationId);
 static void ReplicateShardToAllNodes(ShardInterval *shardInterval);
 static void ReplicateShardToNode(ShardInterval *shardInterval, char *nodeName,
@@ -110,7 +112,20 @@ EnsureReferenceTablesExistOnAllNodes(void)
 		return;
 	}
 
-	/* prevent this function from running concurrently with itself */
+	/*
+	 * Prevent this function from running concurrently with itself.
+	 *
+	 * It also prevents concurrent DROP TABLE or DROP SCHEMA. We need this
+	 * because through-out this function we assume values in referenceTableIdList
+	 * are still valid.
+	 *
+	 * We don't need to handle other kinds of reference table DML/DDL here, since
+	 * master_copy_shard_placement gets enough locks for that.
+	 *
+	 * We also don't need special handling for concurrent create_refernece_table.
+	 * Since that will trigger a call to this function from another backend,
+	 * which will block until our call is finished.
+	 */
 	int colocationId = CreateReferenceTableColocationId();
 	LockColocationId(colocationId, ExclusiveLock);
 
@@ -123,18 +138,26 @@ EnsureReferenceTablesExistOnAllNodes(void)
 	}
 
 	Oid referenceTableId = linitial_oid(referenceTableIdList);
+	const char *referenceTableName = get_rel_name(referenceTableId);
 	List *shardIntervalList = LoadShardIntervalList(referenceTableId);
 	if (list_length(shardIntervalList) == 0)
 	{
 		/* check for corrupt metadata */
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("reference table \"%s\" does not have a shard",
-							   get_rel_name(referenceTableId))));
+							   referenceTableName)));
 	}
 
 	ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) linitial(shardIntervalList);
 	uint64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
 
-	List *newWorkersList = WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(shardId);
+	/*
+	 * We only take an access share lock, otherwise we'll hold up master_add_node.
+	 * In case of create_reference_table() and upgrade_to_reference_table(), where
+	 * we don't want concurrent writes to pg_dist_node, we have already acquired
+	 * ShareLock on pg_dist_node.
+	 */
+	List *newWorkersList = WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(shardId,
+																 AccessShareLock);
 	if (list_length(newWorkersList) == 0)
 	{
 		/* nothing to do, no need for lock */
@@ -171,21 +194,48 @@ EnsureReferenceTablesExistOnAllNodes(void)
 	if (sourceShardPlacement == NULL)
 	{
 		/* check for corrupt metadata */
-		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("reference table shard " UINT64_FORMAT " does not "
-																	  "have an active shard placement",
+		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("reference table shard "
+							   UINT64_FORMAT
+							   " does not have an active shard placement",
 							   shardId)));
 	}
 
 	WorkerNode *newWorkerNode = NULL;
 	foreach_ptr(newWorkerNode, newWorkersList)
 	{
+		ereport(NOTICE, (errmsg("replicating reference table '%s' to %s:%d ...",
+								referenceTableName, newWorkerNode->workerName,
+								newWorkerNode->workerPort)));
+
 		/*
 		 * Call master_copy_shard_placement using citus extension owner. Current
 		 * user might not have permissions to do the copy.
 		 */
 		const char *userName = CitusExtensionOwnerName();
-		CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNode(sourceShardPlacement, newWorkerNode,
-									   userName);
+		int connectionFlags = OUTSIDE_TRANSACTION;
+
+		MultiConnection *connection = GetNodeUserDatabaseConnection(
+			connectionFlags, "localhost", PostPortNumber,
+			userName, NULL);
+
+		if (PQstatus(connection->pgConn) == CONNECTION_OK)
+		{
+			StringInfo placementCopyCommand =
+				CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNodeQuery(sourceShardPlacement,
+													newWorkerNode,
+													TRANSFER_MODE_AUTOMATIC);
+			ExecuteCriticalRemoteCommand(connection, placementCopyCommand->data);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("could not open a connection to localhost "
+								   "when replicating reference tables"),
+							errdetail(
+								"citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate = false "
+								"requires localhost connectivity.")));
+		}
+
+		CloseConnection(connection);
 	}
 
 	/*
@@ -224,14 +274,13 @@ AnyRelationsModifiedInTransaction(List *relationIdList)
  * supposed to.
  */
 static List *
-WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(uint64 shardId)
+WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(uint64 shardId, LOCKMODE lockMode)
 {
 	List *workersWithoutPlacements = NIL;
 
 	List *shardPlacementList = ActiveShardPlacementList(shardId);
 
-	/* we only take an access share lock, otherwise we'll hold up master_add_node */
-	List *workerNodeList = ReferenceTablePlacementNodeList(AccessShareLock);
+	List *workerNodeList = ReferenceTablePlacementNodeList(lockMode);
 	workerNodeList = SortList(workerNodeList, CompareWorkerNodes);
 
 	WorkerNode *workerNode = NULL;
@@ -252,33 +301,33 @@ WorkersWithoutReferenceTablePlacement(uint64 shardId)
 
 
 /*
- * CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNode runs master_copy_shard_placement
- * using the given username by connecting to localhost.
+ * CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNodeQuery returns the master_copy_shard_placement
+ * command to copy the given shard placement to given node.
  */
-static void
-CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNode(ShardPlacement *sourceShardPlacement,
-							   WorkerNode *workerNode,
-							   const char *userName)
+static StringInfo
+CopyShardPlacementToWorkerNodeQuery(ShardPlacement *sourceShardPlacement,
+									WorkerNode *workerNode,
+									char transferMode)
 {
-	int connectionFlags = OUTSIDE_TRANSACTION;
 	StringInfo queryString = makeStringInfo();
 
-	MultiConnection *connection = GetNodeUserDatabaseConnection(
-		connectionFlags, "localhost", PostPortNumber,
-		userName, NULL);
+	const char *transferModeString =
+		transferMode == TRANSFER_MODE_BLOCK_WRITES ? "block_writes" :
+		transferMode == TRANSFER_MODE_FORCE_LOGICAL ? "force_logical" :
+		"auto";
 
 	appendStringInfo(queryString,
 					 "SELECT master_copy_shard_placement("
-					 UINT64_FORMAT ", %s, %d, %s, %d, do_repair := false)",
+					 UINT64_FORMAT ", %s, %d, %s, %d, do_repair := false, "
+								   "transfer_mode := %s)",
 					 sourceShardPlacement->shardId,
 					 quote_literal_cstr(sourceShardPlacement->nodeName),
 					 sourceShardPlacement->nodePort,
 					 quote_literal_cstr(workerNode->workerName),
-					 workerNode->workerPort);
+					 workerNode->workerPort,
+					 quote_literal_cstr(transferModeString));
 
-	elog(DEBUG3, "%s", queryString->data);
-
-	ExecuteCriticalRemoteCommand(connection, queryString->data);
+	return queryString;
 }
 
 
@@ -657,3 +706,63 @@ ReferenceTableReplicationFactor(void)
 	int replicationFactor = list_length(nodeList);
 	return replicationFactor;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * ReplicateAllReferenceTablesToNode function finds all reference tables and
+ * replicates them to the given worker node. It also modifies pg_dist_colocation
+ * table to update the replication factor column when necessary. This function
+ * skips reference tables if that node already has healthy placement of that
+ * reference table to prevent unnecessary data transfer.
+ */
+void
+ReplicateAllReferenceTablesToNode(char *nodeName, int nodePort)
+{
+	List *referenceTableList = ReferenceTableOidList();
+
+	/* if there is no reference table, we do not need to replicate anything */
+	if (list_length(referenceTableList) > 0)
+	{
+		List *referenceShardIntervalList = NIL;
+
+		/*
+		 * We sort the reference table list to prevent deadlocks in concurrent
+		 * ReplicateAllReferenceTablesToAllNodes calls.
+		 */
+		referenceTableList = SortList(referenceTableList, CompareOids);
+		Oid referenceTableId = InvalidOid;
+		foreach_oid(referenceTableId, referenceTableList)
+		{
+			List *shardIntervalList = LoadShardIntervalList(referenceTableId);
+			ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) linitial(shardIntervalList);
+
+			referenceShardIntervalList = lappend(referenceShardIntervalList,
+												 shardInterval);
+		}
+
+		if (ClusterHasKnownMetadataWorkers())
+		{
+			BlockWritesToShardList(referenceShardIntervalList);
+		}
+
+		ShardInterval *shardInterval = NULL;
+		foreach_ptr(shardInterval, referenceShardIntervalList)
+		{
+			uint64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
+
+			LockShardDistributionMetadata(shardId, ExclusiveLock);
+
+			ReplicateShardToNode(shardInterval, nodeName, nodePort);
+		}
+
+		/* create foreign constraints between reference tables */
+		foreach_ptr(shardInterval, referenceShardIntervalList)
+		{
+			char *tableOwner = TableOwner(shardInterval->relationId);
+			List *commandList = CopyShardForeignConstraintCommandList(shardInterval);
+
+			SendCommandListToWorkerInSingleTransaction(nodeName, nodePort, tableOwner,
+													   commandList);
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/master_protocol.h b/src/include/distributed/master_protocol.h
index b9f5b2671..1755a101d 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/master_protocol.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/master_protocol.h
@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@
 #define CANDIDATE_NODE_FIELDS 2
 #define WORKER_NODE_FIELDS 2
 
+/* transfer mode for master_copy_shard_placement */
+#define TRANSFER_MODE_AUTOMATIC 'a'
+#define TRANSFER_MODE_FORCE_LOGICAL 'l'
+#define TRANSFER_MODE_BLOCK_WRITES 'b'
+
 /* Name of columnar foreign data wrapper */
 #define CSTORE_FDW_NAME "cstore_fdw"
 
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/reference_table_utils.h b/src/include/distributed/reference_table_utils.h
index 4484e4411..0fac3c41d 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/reference_table_utils.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/reference_table_utils.h
@@ -22,6 +22,6 @@ extern uint32 CreateReferenceTableColocationId(void);
 extern void DeleteAllReferenceTablePlacementsFromNodeGroup(int32 groupId);
 extern int CompareOids(const void *leftElement, const void *rightElement);
 extern int ReferenceTableReplicationFactor(void);
-
+extern void ReplicateAllReferenceTablesToNode(char *nodeName, int nodePort);
 
 #endif /* REFERENCE_TABLE_UTILS_H_ */
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h b/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
index f5bb00ba9..336e1eedf 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ typedef struct WorkerNode
 extern int MaxWorkerNodesTracked;
 extern char *WorkerListFileName;
 extern char *CurrentCluster;
+extern bool ReplicateReferenceTablesOnActivate;
 
 
 /* Function declarations for finding worker nodes to place shards on */
diff --git a/src/test/regress/bin/normalize.sed b/src/test/regress/bin/normalize.sed
index 872f090ca..343d05057 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/bin/normalize.sed
+++ b/src/test/regress/bin/normalize.sed
@@ -111,3 +111,6 @@ s/worker_hash_partition_table  \([0-9]+/worker_hash_partition_table  \(xxxxxxx/g
 # ignore first parameter for citus_extradata_container due to differences between pg11 and pg12
 # can be removed when we remove PG_VERSION_NUM >= 120000
 s/pg_catalog.citus_extradata_container\([0-9]+/pg_catalog.citus_extradata_container\(XXX/g
+
+# ignore referene table replication messages
+/replicating reference table.*$/d
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/failure_add_disable_node.out b/src/test/regress/expected/failure_add_disable_node.out
index c37f9a0ef..aec4d756e 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/failure_add_disable_node.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/failure_add_disable_node.out
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ SELECT citus.mitmproxy('conn.allow()');
 (1 row)
 
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 200000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- verify we have all worker nodes present
 SELECT * FROM master_get_active_worker_nodes()
 ORDER BY 1, 2;
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.out b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.out
index a7a3eb3a2..72e4df0ce 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.out
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 Parsed test spec with 2 sessions
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -38,10 +41,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -76,10 +82,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -114,10 +123,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -152,10 +164,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-index-count
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-index-count
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -191,10 +206,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-index-count
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-index-count
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -230,10 +248,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-commit s2-print-content-2
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-commit s2-print-content-2
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -273,10 +294,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content-2
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-load-metadata-cache s2-begin s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content-2
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-load-metadata-cache:
  COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
 
@@ -315,10 +339,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s1-begin:
     BEGIN;
 
@@ -350,10 +377,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-begin s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-begin:
  BEGIN;
 
@@ -385,10 +415,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s1-begin:
     BEGIN;
 
@@ -420,10 +453,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-begin s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-begin:
  BEGIN;
 
@@ -455,10 +491,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-index-count
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-index-count
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s1-begin:
     BEGIN;
 
@@ -491,10 +530,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-begin s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-index-count
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-index-count
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-begin:
  BEGIN;
 
@@ -527,10 +569,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-commit s2-print-content-2
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-commit s2-print-content-2
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s1-begin:
     BEGIN;
 
@@ -567,10 +612,13 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s2-begin s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content-2
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content-2
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s2-begin:
  BEGIN;
 
@@ -606,10 +654,339 @@ master_remove_node
 
 
 
-starting permutation: s1-add-second-worker s2-begin s1-begin s1-drop-reference-table s2-replicate-reference-tables s1-commit s2-commit
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
 create_distributed_table
 
 
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s1-begin:
+    BEGIN;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-copy-to-reference-table:
+ COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
+ <waiting ...>
+step s1-commit:
+    COMMIT;
+
+step s2-copy-to-reference-table: <... completed>
+step s2-print-content:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              5
+57638          t              5
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-copy-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s2-begin:
+ BEGIN;
+
+step s2-copy-to-reference-table:
+ COPY test_reference_table FROM PROGRAM 'echo 1 && echo 2 && echo 3 && echo 4 && echo 5';
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s2-commit:
+ COMMIT;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker: <... completed>
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-print-content:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              5
+57638          t              5
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-content
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s1-begin:
+    BEGIN;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-insert-to-reference-table:
+ INSERT INTO test_reference_table VALUES (6);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s1-commit:
+    COMMIT;
+
+step s2-insert-to-reference-table: <... completed>
+step s2-print-content:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-insert-to-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s2-begin:
+ BEGIN;
+
+step s2-insert-to-reference-table:
+ INSERT INTO test_reference_table VALUES (6);
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s2-commit:
+ COMMIT;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker: <... completed>
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-print-content:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-commit s2-print-index-count
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s1-begin:
+    BEGIN;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-ddl-on-reference-table:
+ CREATE INDEX reference_index ON test_reference_table(test_id);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s1-commit:
+    COMMIT;
+
+step s2-ddl-on-reference-table: <... completed>
+step s2-print-index-count:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from pg_indexes WHERE tablename = ''%s''')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-ddl-on-reference-table s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-index-count
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s2-begin:
+ BEGIN;
+
+step s2-ddl-on-reference-table:
+ CREATE INDEX reference_index ON test_reference_table(test_id);
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s2-commit:
+ COMMIT;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker: <... completed>
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-print-index-count:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table', 'select count(*) from pg_indexes WHERE tablename = ''%s''')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s1-begin s1-add-second-worker s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-commit s2-print-content-2
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s1-begin:
+    BEGIN;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-create-reference-table-2:
+ SELECT create_reference_table('test_reference_table_2');
+ <waiting ...>
+step s1-commit:
+    COMMIT;
+
+step s2-create-reference-table-2: <... completed>
+create_reference_table
+
+
+step s2-print-content-2:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table_2', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-replicate-on-activate s2-begin s2-create-reference-table-2 s1-add-second-worker s2-commit s2-print-content-2
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+
+step s2-begin:
+ BEGIN;
+
+step s2-create-reference-table-2:
+ SELECT create_reference_table('test_reference_table_2');
+
+create_reference_table
+
+
+step s1-add-second-worker:
+ SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
+ <waiting ...>
+step s2-commit:
+ COMMIT;
+
+step s1-add-second-worker: <... completed>
+?column?
+
+1
+step s2-print-content-2:
+ SELECT
+  nodeport, success, result
+ FROM
+  run_command_on_placements('test_reference_table_2', 'select count(*) from %s')
+ ORDER BY
+  nodeport;
+
+nodeport       success        result
+
+57637          t              1
+57638          t              1
+master_remove_node
+
+
+
+
+starting permutation: s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate s1-add-second-worker s2-begin s1-begin s1-drop-reference-table s2-replicate-reference-tables s1-commit s2-commit
+create_distributed_table
+
+
+step s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate:
+ SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 step s1-add-second-worker:
  SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
 
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_dump_global_wait_edges.out b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_dump_global_wait_edges.out
index 6e26a07a7..9384bd287 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_dump_global_wait_edges.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/isolation_dump_global_wait_edges.out
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ step detector-dump-wait-edges:
 
 waiting_transaction_numblocking_transaction_numblocking_transaction_waiting
 
-360            359            f
+392            391            f
 transactionnumberwaitingtransactionnumbers
 
-359
-360            359
+391
+392            391
 step s1-abort:
     ABORT;
 
@@ -75,14 +75,14 @@ step detector-dump-wait-edges:
 
 waiting_transaction_numblocking_transaction_numblocking_transaction_waiting
 
-364            363            f
-365            363            f
-365            364            t
+396            395            f
+397            395            f
+397            396            t
 transactionnumberwaitingtransactionnumbers
 
-363
-364            363
-365            363,364
+395
+396            395
+397            395,396
 step s1-abort:
     ABORT;
 
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/local_shard_copy.out b/src/test/regress/expected/local_shard_copy.out
index e07f595a8..ef9e5e615 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/local_shard_copy.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/local_shard_copy.out
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ CREATE SCHEMA local_shard_copy;
 SET search_path TO local_shard_copy;
 SET client_min_messages TO DEBUG;
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1570000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 SELECT * FROM master_add_node('localhost', :master_port, groupid := 0);
 DEBUG:  schema "public" already exists, skipping
 DETAIL:  NOTICE from localhost:xxxxx
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_metadata_sync.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_metadata_sync.out
index 99557f0b6..3cbd72a5b 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_metadata_sync.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_metadata_sync.out
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 -- Tests for metadata snapshot functions, metadata syncing functions and propagation of
 -- metadata changes to MX tables.
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq RESTART 1310000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 SELECT nextval('pg_catalog.pg_dist_placement_placementid_seq') AS last_placement_id
 \gset
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_placement_placementid_seq RESTART 100000;
@@ -1394,6 +1395,7 @@ WHERE logicalrelid='mx_ref'::regclass;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
 SELECT master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+NOTICE:  Replicating reference table "mx_ref" to the node localhost:xxxxx
  master_add_node
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                7
@@ -1406,7 +1408,8 @@ ORDER BY shardid, nodeport;
  shardid | nodename  | nodeport
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  1310073 | localhost |    57637
-(1 row)
+ 1310073 | localhost |    57638
+(2 rows)
 
 \c - - - :worker_1_port
 SELECT shardid, nodename, nodeport
@@ -1416,7 +1419,8 @@ ORDER BY shardid, nodeport;
  shardid | nodename  | nodeport
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  1310073 | localhost |    57637
-(1 row)
+ 1310073 | localhost |    57638
+(2 rows)
 
 -- Get the metadata back into a consistent state
 \c - - - :master_port
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_mx_node_metadata.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_mx_node_metadata.out
index 8f6720887..c28eba404 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_mx_node_metadata.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_mx_node_metadata.out
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ SELECT nextval('pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq') AS last_shard_id \gset
 SET citus.replication_model TO streaming;
 SET citus.shard_count TO 8;
 SET citus.shard_replication_factor TO 1;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- Simulates a readonly node by setting default_transaction_read_only.
 CREATE FUNCTION mark_node_readonly(hostname TEXT, port INTEGER, isreadonly BOOLEAN)
     RETURNS TEXT
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_remove_node_reference_table.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_remove_node_reference_table.out
index 97b0d17d6..f30915788 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_remove_node_reference_table.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_remove_node_reference_table.out
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 --
 -- Tests that check the metadata after master_remove_node.
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1380000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_colocationid_seq RESTART 1380000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_groupid_seq RESTART 1380000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_node_nodeid_seq RESTART 1380000;
@@ -216,6 +217,7 @@ WHERE
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- remove same node twice
 SELECT master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
 ERROR:  node at "localhost:xxxxx" does not exist
@@ -448,6 +450,7 @@ WHERE
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
@@ -570,6 +573,7 @@ SELECT * FROM remove_node_reference_table;
 (1 row)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
@@ -679,6 +683,7 @@ WHERE
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1380001;
 -- verify table structure is changed
 SELECT "Column", "Type", "Modifiers" FROM table_desc WHERE relid='public.remove_node_reference_table'::regclass;
@@ -885,6 +890,7 @@ WHERE
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
@@ -994,6 +1000,7 @@ WHERE
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_activate_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_replicate_reference_table.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_replicate_reference_table.out
index cabf02679..bf7c9377c 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_replicate_reference_table.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_replicate_reference_table.out
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1370000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_colocationid_seq RESTART 1370000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_groupid_seq RESTART 1370000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_node_nodeid_seq RESTART 1370000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 -- only query shards created in this test
 CREATE VIEW pg_dist_shard_placement_view AS
 SELECT * FROM pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE shardid BETWEEN 1370000 AND 1380000;
@@ -846,6 +847,73 @@ SELECT min(result) = max(result) AS consistent FROM run_command_on_placements('r
  t
 (1 row)
 
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
+SELECT count(*) AS ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass \gset
+-- remove reference table replica from worker 2
+SELECT 1 FROM master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+       -1
+(1 row)
+
+-- test setting citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate to on
+-- master_add_node
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        0
+(1 row)
+
+-- master_activate_node
+SELECT 1 FROM master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT 1 FROM master_add_inactive_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+       -1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT 1 FROM master_activate_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        1
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+ ?column?
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+        0
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT min(result) = max(result) AS consistent FROM run_command_on_placements('ref_table', 'SELECT sum(a) FROM %s');
+ consistent
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+ t
+(1 row)
+
 -- test adding an invalid node while we have reference tables to replicate
 -- set client message level to ERROR and verbosity to terse to supporess
 -- OS-dependent host name resolution warnings
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_transactional_drop_shards.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_transactional_drop_shards.out
index 93043aa92..d11038810 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_transactional_drop_shards.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_transactional_drop_shards.out
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 -- Tests that check the metadata returned by the master node.
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq RESTART 1410000;
 SET citus.shard_count TO 4;
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- test DROP TABLE(ergo master_drop_all_shards) in transaction, then ROLLBACK
 CREATE TABLE transactional_drop_shards(column1 int);
 SELECT create_distributed_table('transactional_drop_shards', 'column1');
@@ -653,6 +654,7 @@ ORDER BY
 (0 rows)
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- try using the coordinator as a worker and then dropping the table
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :master_port);
  ?column?
@@ -685,8 +687,6 @@ SELECT stop_metadata_sync_to_node('localhost', :worker_1_port);
 
 -- test DROP TABLE as a non-superuser in a transaction block
 CREATE USER try_drop_table WITH LOGIN;
-NOTICE:  not propagating CREATE ROLE/USER commands to worker nodes
-HINT:  Connect to worker nodes directly to manually create all necessary users and roles.
 SELECT run_command_on_workers('CREATE USER try_drop_table WITH LOGIN');
       run_command_on_workers
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/propagate_extension_commands.out b/src/test/regress/expected/propagate_extension_commands.out
index 8138a6e32..36f7254c9 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/propagate_extension_commands.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/propagate_extension_commands.out
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 CREATE SCHEMA "extension'test";
 -- use  a schema name with escape character
 SET search_path TO "extension'test";
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- create an extension on the given search_path
 -- the extension is on contrib, so should be avaliable for the regression tests
 CREATE EXTENSION seg;
@@ -88,10 +89,8 @@ SELECT create_reference_table('ref_table');
 (1 row)
 
 -- now,  drop the extension, recreate it with an older version and update it to latest version
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION isn CASCADE;
 CREATE EXTENSION isn WITH VERSION "1.1";
-RESET client_min_messages;
 -- before updating the version, ensure the current version
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'isn'$$);
  run_command_on_workers
@@ -137,22 +136,16 @@ SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT nspname from pg_namespace where oid=(SELE
  (localhost,57638,t,public)
 (2 rows)
 
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- drop the extension finally
 DROP EXTENSION isn CASCADE;
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
 -- now make sure that the reference tables depending on an extension can be succesfully created.
 -- we should also ensure that we replicate this reference table (and hence the extension)
 -- to new nodes after calling master_activate_node.
 -- now, first drop seg and existing objects before next test
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION seg CASCADE;
 -- but as we have only 2 ports in postgresql tests, let's remove one of the nodes first
 -- before remove, first remove the existing relations (due to the other tests)
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;
-RESET client_min_messages;
 SELECT 1 from master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -321,11 +314,7 @@ SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname
 CREATE TABLE t1 (A int);
 CREATE VIEW v1 AS select * from t1;
 ALTER EXTENSION seg ADD VIEW v1;
-NOTICE:  Citus does not propagate adding/dropping member objects
-HINT:  You can add/drop the member objects on the workers as well.
 ALTER EXTENSION seg DROP VIEW v1;
-NOTICE:  Citus does not propagate adding/dropping member objects
-HINT:  You can add/drop the member objects on the workers as well.
 DROP VIEW v1;
 DROP TABLE t1;
 -- drop multiple extensions at the same time
@@ -334,8 +323,6 @@ CREATE EXTENSION isn WITH VERSION '1.1' SCHEMA public;
 set citus.enable_ddl_propagation to 'off';
 CREATE EXTENSION pg_buffercache;
 set citus.enable_ddl_propagation to 'on';
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION pg_buffercache, isn CASCADE;
 SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('pg_buffercache', 'isn');
  count
@@ -343,10 +330,6 @@ SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('pg_buffercache', 'isn');
      0
 (1 row)
 
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- drop extension should just work
 DROP EXTENSION seg CASCADE;
 SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid = (SELECT oid FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'seg');
@@ -362,8 +345,6 @@ SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname
  (localhost,57638,t,0)
 (2 rows)
 
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
 -- make sure that the extension is not avaliable anymore as a distributed object
 SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid = (SELECT oid FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('seg', 'isn'));
  count
@@ -402,13 +383,11 @@ SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extnam
 (2 rows)
 
 -- drop the schema and all the objects
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;
 -- recreate for the next tests
 CREATE SCHEMA "extension'test";
 -- use  a schema name with escape character
 SET search_path TO "extension'test";
-RESET client_min_messages;
 -- remove the node, we'll add back again
 SELECT 1 from master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
  ?column?
@@ -462,5 +441,4 @@ SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname
 (2 rows)
 
 -- drop the schema and all the objects
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;
diff --git a/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.spec b/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.spec
index 9ff681f63..72517669a 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.spec
+++ b/src/test/regress/spec/isolation_add_node_vs_reference_table_operations.spec
@@ -29,6 +29,16 @@ step "s1-begin"
     BEGIN;
 }
 
+step "s1-replicate-on-activate"
+{
+	SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+}
+
+step "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate"
+{
+	SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+}
+
 step "s1-add-second-worker"
 {
 	SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', 57638);
@@ -129,25 +139,35 @@ step "s2-print-index-count"
 // note that we need to run "s1-load-metadata-cache" and "s2-load-metadata-cache"
 // to ensure that metadata is cached otherwise the test would be useless since
 // the cache would be empty and the metadata data is gathered from the tables directly
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
-permutation "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-load-metadata-cache" "s2-begin" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
 
 
 // same tests without loading the cache
-permutation "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-begin" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s2-begin" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
-permutation "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
-permutation "s2-begin" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
-permutation "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
-permutation "s2-begin" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+
+// same tests with replicate on activate
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-copy-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-insert-to-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-ddl-on-reference-table" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-index-count"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s1-begin" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
+permutation "s1-replicate-on-activate" "s2-begin" "s2-create-reference-table-2" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-commit" "s2-print-content-2"
 
 // verify drop table blocks replicate reference tables
-permutation "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-begin" "s1-begin" "s1-drop-reference-table" "s2-replicate-reference-tables" "s1-commit" "s2-commit"
+permutation "s1-do-not-replicate-on-activate" "s1-add-second-worker" "s2-begin" "s1-begin" "s1-drop-reference-table" "s2-replicate-reference-tables" "s1-commit" "s2-commit"
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/failure_add_disable_node.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/failure_add_disable_node.sql
index 4cb8cd860..eff908ae2 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/failure_add_disable_node.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/failure_add_disable_node.sql
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 SELECT citus.mitmproxy('conn.allow()');
 
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 200000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- verify we have all worker nodes present
 SELECT * FROM master_get_active_worker_nodes()
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/local_shard_copy.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/local_shard_copy.sql
index 7240c62a0..f0b94e21a 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/local_shard_copy.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/local_shard_copy.sql
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ SET search_path TO local_shard_copy;
 
 SET client_min_messages TO DEBUG;
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1570000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 SELECT * FROM master_add_node('localhost', :master_port, groupid := 0);
 
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_metadata_sync.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_metadata_sync.sql
index c0f7652b1..ce3669500 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_metadata_sync.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_metadata_sync.sql
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq RESTART 1310000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 SELECT nextval('pg_catalog.pg_dist_placement_placementid_seq') AS last_placement_id
 \gset
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_mx_node_metadata.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_mx_node_metadata.sql
index e31a34038..ebde6af4f 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_mx_node_metadata.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_mx_node_metadata.sql
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ SELECT nextval('pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq') AS last_shard_id \gset
 SET citus.replication_model TO streaming;
 SET citus.shard_count TO 8;
 SET citus.shard_replication_factor TO 1;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- Simulates a readonly node by setting default_transaction_read_only.
 CREATE FUNCTION mark_node_readonly(hostname TEXT, port INTEGER, isreadonly BOOLEAN)
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_remove_node_reference_table.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_remove_node_reference_table.sql
index dca5618d2..376171d20 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_remove_node_reference_table.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_remove_node_reference_table.sql
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1380000;
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_colocationid_seq RESTART 1380000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_groupid_seq RESTART 1380000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_node_nodeid_seq RESTART 1380000;
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ WHERE
     nodeport = :worker_2_port;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- remove same node twice
 SELECT master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
@@ -260,6 +262,7 @@ WHERE
     nodeport = :worker_2_port;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
@@ -335,6 +338,7 @@ WHERE
 SELECT * FROM remove_node_reference_table;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
@@ -406,6 +410,7 @@ WHERE
     nodeport = :worker_2_port;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 SET citus.next_shard_id TO 1380001;
 
@@ -528,6 +533,7 @@ WHERE
     nodeport = :worker_2_port;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
@@ -599,6 +605,7 @@ WHERE
     nodeport = :worker_2_port;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
 
 -- re-add the node for next tests
 SELECT 1 FROM master_activate_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_replicate_reference_table.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_replicate_reference_table.sql
index 56d458296..7b1951bfb 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_replicate_reference_table.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_replicate_reference_table.sql
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_colocationid_seq RESTART 1370000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_groupid_seq RESTART 1370000;
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_node_nodeid_seq RESTART 1370000;
 
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO off;
+
 -- only query shards created in this test
 CREATE VIEW pg_dist_shard_placement_view AS
 SELECT * FROM pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE shardid BETWEEN 1370000 AND 1380000;
@@ -547,6 +549,34 @@ COMMIT;
 
 SELECT min(result) = max(result) AS consistent FROM run_command_on_placements('ref_table', 'SELECT sum(a) FROM %s');
 
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
+
+SELECT count(*) AS ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass \gset
+
+-- remove reference table replica from worker 2
+SELECT 1 FROM master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+
+-- test setting citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate to on
+-- master_add_node
+SET citus.replicate_reference_tables_on_activate TO on;
+SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+
+-- master_activate_node
+SELECT 1 FROM master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+SELECT 1 FROM master_add_inactive_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+
+SELECT 1 FROM master_activate_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
+
+SELECT count(*) - :ref_table_placements FROM pg_dist_shard NATURAL JOIN pg_dist_shard_placement WHERE logicalrelid = 'ref_table'::regclass;
+
+SELECT min(result) = max(result) AS consistent FROM run_command_on_placements('ref_table', 'SELECT sum(a) FROM %s');
+
 -- test adding an invalid node while we have reference tables to replicate
 -- set client message level to ERROR and verbosity to terse to supporess
 -- OS-dependent host name resolution warnings
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_transactional_drop_shards.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_transactional_drop_shards.sql
index f574dedcf..f4b6d83b9 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_transactional_drop_shards.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_transactional_drop_shards.sql
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 ALTER SEQUENCE pg_catalog.pg_dist_shardid_seq RESTART 1410000;
 
 SET citus.shard_count TO 4;
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 
 -- test DROP TABLE(ergo master_drop_all_shards) in transaction, then ROLLBACK
 CREATE TABLE transactional_drop_shards(column1 int);
@@ -362,6 +363,7 @@ ORDER BY
     shardid, nodename, nodeport;
 
 \c - - - :master_port
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 
 -- try using the coordinator as a worker and then dropping the table
 SELECT 1 FROM master_add_node('localhost', :master_port);
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/propagate_extension_commands.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/propagate_extension_commands.sql
index f52233a60..ad7ba749b 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/propagate_extension_commands.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/propagate_extension_commands.sql
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ CREATE SCHEMA "extension'test";
 -- use  a schema name with escape character
 SET search_path TO "extension'test";
 
+SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
+
 -- create an extension on the given search_path
 -- the extension is on contrib, so should be avaliable for the regression tests
 CREATE EXTENSION seg;
@@ -48,10 +50,8 @@ CREATE TABLE ref_table (a public.issn);
 SELECT create_reference_table('ref_table');
 
 -- now,  drop the extension, recreate it with an older version and update it to latest version
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION isn CASCADE;
 CREATE EXTENSION isn WITH VERSION "1.1";
-RESET client_min_messages;
 
 -- before updating the version, ensure the current version
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'isn'$$);
@@ -77,26 +77,20 @@ SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid = (SELECT oid FROM pg_exte
 -- show that the ALTER EXTENSION command is propagated
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT nspname from pg_namespace where oid=(SELECT extnamespace FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'isn')$$);
 
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 -- drop the extension finally
 DROP EXTENSION isn CASCADE;
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
 
 -- now make sure that the reference tables depending on an extension can be succesfully created.
 -- we should also ensure that we replicate this reference table (and hence the extension)
 -- to new nodes after calling master_activate_node.
 
 -- now, first drop seg and existing objects before next test
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION seg CASCADE;
 
 -- but as we have only 2 ports in postgresql tests, let's remove one of the nodes first
 -- before remove, first remove the existing relations (due to the other tests)
 
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;
-RESET client_min_messages;
 SELECT 1 from master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
 
 -- then create the extension
@@ -189,15 +183,8 @@ set citus.enable_ddl_propagation to 'off';
 CREATE EXTENSION pg_buffercache;
 set citus.enable_ddl_propagation to 'on';
 
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP EXTENSION pg_buffercache, isn CASCADE;
 SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('pg_buffercache', 'isn');
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
-
--- SET client_min_messages TO WARNING before executing a DROP EXTENSION statement
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 
 -- drop extension should just work
 DROP EXTENSION seg CASCADE;
@@ -205,9 +192,6 @@ DROP EXTENSION seg CASCADE;
 SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid = (SELECT oid FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'seg');
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'seg'$$);
 
--- restore client_min_messages after DROP EXTENSION
-RESET client_min_messages;
-
 -- make sure that the extension is not avaliable anymore as a distributed object
 SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid = (SELECT oid FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('seg', 'isn'));
 
@@ -229,7 +213,6 @@ ROLLBACK;
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'seg'$$);
 
 -- drop the schema and all the objects
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;
 
 -- recreate for the next tests
@@ -238,8 +221,6 @@ CREATE SCHEMA "extension'test";
 -- use  a schema name with escape character
 SET search_path TO "extension'test";
 
-RESET client_min_messages;
-
 -- remove the node, we'll add back again
 SELECT 1 from master_remove_node('localhost', :worker_2_port);
 
@@ -269,5 +250,4 @@ SELECT count(*) FROM citus.pg_dist_object WHERE objid IN (SELECT oid FROM pg_ext
 SELECT run_command_on_workers($$SELECT count(*) FROM pg_extension WHERE extname IN ('seg', 'isn')$$);
 
 -- drop the schema and all the objects
-SET client_min_messages TO WARNING;
 DROP SCHEMA "extension'test" CASCADE;