Provinces move at different speeds
As some provinces considered staggered steps Wednesday towards reopening their economies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear some of them may ease restrictions at different speeds.
Trudeau also stressed that all will follow the guidelines their premiers and the federal government drafted collaboratively to ease the physical distancing that was instituted to combat COVID-19 — a joint effort that he branded as an unusual success in Ottawa’s sometimes strained relations with the provinces.
“Every region, every province, every territory is facing a very different situation right now with different industries, different-sized cities, and different spread of COVID-19. That’s why we needed to make sure that the foundational elements were there, that we could all follow as Canadians, but recognize that different jurisdictions will act differently,” Trudeau said Wednesday.
“But there is a common desire right across the country from all premiers to ensure that we’re doing this right.”
Those differences were starkly illustrated by the fact that Quebec and Ontario, the country’s two largest provinces, were taking different approaches to easing restrictions amid federal projections released this week that thousands more people would likely contract COVID-19 and hundreds more could die in the coming week.
Canada’s two most populous provinces account for about 80 per cent of the country’s known cases of COVID-19, a sharp contrast with other regions, where some light seemed to be appearing at the end of the pandemic tunnel.
Manitoba said it would start easing its physical distancing measures on Monday and allow dentists, physiotherapists, retail stores, hair salons and restaurant patios to open at no more than half capacity.
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases Wednesday. But P.E.I. said it will remain closed to outsiders for the foreseeable future.
Quebec remains Canada’s hardest-hit province, announcing 79 new deaths on Wednesday for a total of 1,761, and 837 cases for a total of 26,594. But the province is nevertheless pushing forward with plans to ease restrictions.