COVID-19 One Year Later
A timeline of key developments in the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada since the first presumptive case was reported on Jan. 25, 2020
Jan. 25: A Toronto man in his 50s who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan — the initial epicentre of the outbreak — becomes the first presumptive case of the novel coronavirus in Canada. The man is placed in isolation in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.
Jan. 26: The man’s wife, who had travelled with him from Wuhan, also tests positive, becoming the country’s second presumptive case. The woman is allowed to self-isolate at home.
Jan. 27: The National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg confirms that the Toronto man being treated at Sunnybrook Hospital is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada.
Jan. 28: The Toronto man’s wife is declared the second confirmed case of COVID-19. Health officials in British Columbia say a man in his 40s who travels to China for work is presumed to have COVID-19. The man is in self-isolation at his Vancouver home.
Feb. 7: A plane carrying more than 200 Canadians from Wuhan arrives at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, where they start a 14-day quarantine.
March 5: B.C. announces eight new cases, including Canada’s first-ever case possibly contracted within the community, rather than through travel or contact with other cases.
March 8: Canada records its first death from COVID-19. A man in his 80s died in a North Vancouver nursing home.
March 11: The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Canada has more than 100 cases. A Utah Jazz player tests positive two days after a game against the Toronto Raptors, causing the NBA to suspend its season.
March 12: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau self-isolates after his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau tests positive for COVID-19. The NHL and most other sports leagues suspend seasons. The Juno Awards are shelved. Minor hockey across the country is cancelled. The Ontario government announces schools across the province will be closed for two weeks after March break. Manitoba and Saskatchewan report their first cases.
March 17: Ontario and Alberta declare states of emergency.
March 18: Canada and the United States announce they will close their shared border to non-essential traffic. B.C. and Saskatchewan declare states of emergency.
March 20: COVID-19 cases pass 1,000 across the country. Manitoba declares state of emergency.
March 24: Olympics officially postponed until 2021.
March 25: Emergency aid bill passes. Canada makes it mandatory for all travellers arriving in the country to quarantine for 14 days.
April 6: 3M makes a deal with the White House to provide N95 masks to Canada. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, says wearing masks is a way for people who might have COVID-19 without realizing it to keep from spreading the illness.
April 13: Federal government announces nearly 5.4 million Canadians are receiving emergency aid.
April 15: Canada passes 1,000 virus-related deaths.
April 22: Ontario and Quebec, the hardest-hit provinces, call on the military to help out in long-term care homes.
May 26: A new report from the military helping battle COVID-19 in five long-term care facilities in Ontario reveals extreme neglect and exposes the extent of the horrific conditions facing residents.
June 12: Ontario enters Stage 2 of its reopening, except for Toronto, Windsor-Essex and Peel region.
June 18: Canada officially records more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 over the length of the pandemic.
July 3: P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia begin allowing their Atlantic neighbours to visit without self-isolating for 14 days after entering. The so-called “Atlantic bubble” is seen as a way to boost struggling local economies.
July 18: The Blue Jays are denied approval to play in Toronto due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aug. 17: The Canadian Football League cancels its 2020 season, making it the first year since 1919 that the Grey Cup won’t be awarded.
Sept. 8: Hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers across Canada re-enter classrooms for the first time in six months. Alberta and Quebec are among the first to report new cases of COVID-19 related to the reopening of schools.
Sept. 23: In an address to the country, Trudeau says the second wave of COVID-19 is underway. He says families won’t likely be able to gather for Thanksgiving, but it is not too late to save Christmas.
Sept. 30: Parliamentarians unanimously pass Bill C-4 to usher in a new batch of COVID-19 benefits.
Nov. 26: Federal health officials say Canada has purchase agreements with seven COVID-19 vaccine producers.
Nov. 27: Trudeau says most Canadians should receive be vaccinated by September 2021.
Dec. 7: Trudeau says Canada will receive up to 249,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in December.
Dec. 9: Health Canada approves national use of PfizerBioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Dec. 14: The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are administered to people in Quebec and Ontario.
Dec. 23: Health Canada says the COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. biotech firm Moderna is safe for use in Canada.
Dec. 26: Ontario confirms its two first Canadian cases of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom. The province also re-enters a lockdown that shutters non-essential businesses and closes schools to in-person learning for at least two weeks.
Dec. 28: Canada surpasses 15,000 deaths related to COVID-19.
Dec. 30: The federal government announces plans to require air travellers to test negative for COVID-19 before landing in Canada.
Jan. 6: Quebec becomes the first province to announce a curfew to curb soaring COVID-19 infections.
Jan. 8: A new variant of COVID-19 that first surfaced in South Africa is reported in Alberta. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick tighten their boundaries, requiring people entering the provinces to quarantine for 14 days.
Jan. 14: A stay-at-home order takes effect in Ontario days after the daily case tally nearly hit 4,000.
Jan. 23: Health Canada confirms it’s approved a rapid COVID-19 test from Spartan Bioscience. The company had previously recalled its rapid testing technology last spring over concerns expressed by the federal agency.