Ontario and Quebec, the two provinces hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, both reported daily case counts of the respiratory illness beyond 2,000 on Sunday — with the latter setting a new single-day record — while Nunavut reported its first two COVID-19-related deaths.
Ontario registered 2,316 more confirmed cases, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted. That marks the sixth consecutive day the province has exceeded 2,000 new positive test results. The province also reported 25 new deaths from the disease.
In Quebec, health officials reported 2,146 new cases on Sunday and 21 more deaths.
Nunavut‘s health authorities on Sunday confirmed the territory’s first-ever deaths from COVID-19. They said a resident of Arviat and another from Rankin Inlet died of complications related to COVID-19 on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, Canada surpassed the half-million mark in reported cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and New Brunswick became the last province to launch its inoculation program.
WATCH | N.B. administers its 1st COVID-19 vaccine shot:
Pauline Gauvin, an 84-year-old Miramichi resident, was first New Brunswicker to get the vaccine. 0:49
In the United States, shipments of Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine began leaving U.S. warehouses early on Sunday, heading for health-care facilities around the country in a push to distribute the nation’s second approved coronavirus vaccine.
Employees at distribution centres in the Memphis area of Tennessee and in Olive Branch, Miss., could be seen boxing up the vaccine. The first shots were expected to be administered starting as early as Monday, just three days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized their rollout.
Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution centre in Olive Branch, Miss., on Sunday. (Paul Sancya/Reuters)
Who gets the vaccine depends on state and local officials across the United States. But generally, health-care workers and the elderly are at the top of the priority list.
It is the second COVID-19 vaccine that has received FDA authorization, following the first one developed by American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech.
WATCH | 168,000 Moderna COVID-19 vaccines could be in Canada by year’s end:
Moderna could ship up to 168,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine before the end of the year once it’s approved by Health Canada, which is believed to be close. The prime minister said Moderna could ship vaccines within 48 hours of approval. 1:56
Last Tuesday, a day after Canada began using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the federal government reached an agreement with Moderna Inc. to receive the first deliveries of its vaccine within 48 hours of regulatory approval.
Canada’s chief public health officer says her focus for the next few months will be controlling the second wave of COVID-19 and communicating to Canadians that it is safe to get the vaccine. In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Dr. Theresa Tam said she is in awe that the world was able to develop, test, produce, ship and now inject a vaccine less than a year later.
“That’s never been seen before in the history of public health,” she said. “So I think it is emotional for the perspective of just, just that alone how incredible a scientific achievement that was.”
Last spring, when vaccine development efforts were well underway, most experts warned it would be at least a year to 18 months before one was ready. Instead, massive investments from governments and the private sector pushed the development, testing and review process forward at lightning speed.
Canada expects to vaccinate more than 200,000 people by the end of 2020, three million by the end of March and most Canadians who want the vaccine by the end of September.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 503,910, with 76,404 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 14,179.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce more public health rules on Monday to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus following a weekend of emergency talks.
Five regions in Ontario are scheduled to be in the province’s grey or “lockdown” stage as of Monday.
“We really need these measures to come in now. We needed them last week,” said Dr. Kali Barrett, a Toronto critical care physician and a member of the COVID-19 Modelling Collaborative, a joint effort of scientists and physicians in the city.
Barrett said new data modelling for Ontario intensive care units shows a system heading for a crisis, noting that if hospital admissions continue on this trajectory, the system could be beyond capacity by the end of January.
WATCH | We answer your COVID-19 questions:
As restrictions increase and vaccines roll out in many places across Canada, the CBC’s John Northcott puts viewer questions to medical contributor Dr. Peter Lin. 11:37
In British Columbia, the number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna has jumped to 76.
Interior Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Silvina Mema confirmed that workers living in overcrowded housing are behind the spread of coronavirus at the Okanagan resort.
WATCH | Declining case numbers an early positive sign, says Alberta’s top doctor:
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, says the downward trend of new daily COVID-19 cases is a positive sign but emphasizes that the health system continues to be strained. 1:19
Saskatchewan reported 252 new cases and eight more deaths.
Manitoba saw 238 new infections and nine more deaths. The province also declared a number of new outbreaks, including incidents at three different hospitals.
New Brunswick reported five new cases. Even so, the province’s active case count fell to 49.
Nova Scotia saw two new cases, the lowest number of new daily cases in a month.
WATCH | A clinical psychologist discusses the pandemic’s toll on mental health:
The CBC’s Sarah Galashan speaks to Deanne Simms — the clinical director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in York and South Simcoe — about the 40 per cent of Canadians who say their mental health has deteriorated since March. 5:43
Newfoundland and Labrador recorded eight new cases, the most in a single day in the province since April 6.
The Northwest Territories says the government will foot the cost of self-isolation for residents returning from education or training programs outside the territory.
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday, more than 76.5 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, with more than 43.1 million of those cases considered recovered or resolved, according to a COVID-19 tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The global death toll stood at more than 1.6 million.
In Asia, thousands of people lined up for coronavirus tests in a province near Bangkok on Sunday, as authorities in Thailand scrambled to contain an outbreak of the virus that has infected nearly 700 people.
Three lineups of mainly migrant workers stretched for roughly 100 metres in one location alone, at Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province.
People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. (Jerry Harmer/The Associated Press)
In Europe, Serbia is opening a second new hospital in Krusevac to treat patients with COVID-19. Earlier this month, a coronavirus hospital was opened in Belgrade amid an overburdened health system.
President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday visited the latest hospital to open and greeted workers and medical staff. Serbia has so far recorded 296,528 cases with 2,632 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins.
In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that London and much of the southeast of England would be placed under tougher restrictions, meaning a household of people must not meet up with those in other households over Christmas.
A member of the British Transport Police speaks with travellers on the main concourse at Waterloo Station in London on Sunday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday urged people to stay at home in London and southeast England in an effort to slow the spread of a new strain of coronavirus. (Niklas Halle’n/AFP/Getty Images)
In the rest of England, plans to allow three households to mix indoors for five days over the Christmas period have been scaled back, allowing for such get-togethers only on Christmas Day.
In Australia, the outbreak in Sydney’s northern beach suburbs has grown to 70 cases with an additional 30 in the last 24 hours, and authorities say they may never be able to trace the source.
While the numbers are rising, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sunday there hasn’t been evidence of widespread seeding outside the northern beaches community.
The government has imposed a lockdown in the area until Wednesday. Residents will only be permitted to leave their homes for five basic reasons, including medical care, exercise, grocery shopping, work or for compassionate care reasons.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
