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Canada’s second confirmed presumptive case of coronavirus is wife of first patient

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TORONTO —
The first Wuhan coronavirus case in Canada has been confirmed as positive, health officials said Monday, while a second case, involving the man’s wife, is considered “presumptive positive”.

The woman, who has not exhibited symptoms, and her husband recently returned to Toronto from Wuhan. The husband was taken to Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences by ambulance on Jan. 23, where he is in stable condition and being kept in isolation. His wife has been in self-isolation since arriving in Toronto, Ontario health officials said.

“In many ways, this new case is not surprising,” and the risk to Ontarians remains low, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams reiterated in a press conferenceon Monday.

Toronto Public Health has been in regular contact with the woman during her self-isolation period, officials said.

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The couple, who are in their 50s, both wore masks for the duration of the flight as a precaution, health officials said, and were picked up in a private vehicle where the driver also wore a mask. They were taken straight home, where they live alone.

Officials are following protocols and actively following up with passengers on China Southern Airlines flight CZ311 from Guangzhou, China, who were in close proximity to the couple and have made contact with a few. The couple’s flight landed at Pearson International Airport at 3:46 p.m. on Jan.22.

Williams told CTV’s Your Morning earlier Monday that the entire plane was not at risk because it’s a “droplet-spread organism.”

A public call for passengers on that flight could still be made if necessary, said Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto, while still taking into account various concerns, including privacy.

Officials also noted that individuals have been self-identifying as having symptoms of a respiratory virus, but no other cases have been identified so far.

“There is no perfect screening system in an airport. In fact, for SARS, we were doing thermal screening at the airport and it was found to be totally ineffective,” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health.

There are also no plans at the moment to restrict incoming flights from China, Williams said, adding that Canadian officials are taking direction from the World Health Organization and other experts.

OTHER CASES UNDER INVESTIGATION

Samples from the two cases were sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for full confirmation. Authorities said it will take about 48 hours for that lab to complete their test.

There are 19 other cases under investigation, officials said, and another 15 ruled out as negative so far. The cases being investigated involve people who have shown relevant symptoms and have also travelled to the city of Wuhan or Hubei province.

An outbreak of the virus that began in Wuhan has killed 80 people, with roughly 2,800 cases confirmed so far. Most of the cases are centered in Wuhan, but more than 40 have been confirmed elsewhere.

A total of 17 cities in China are currently on lockdown, limiting the movement of more than 50 million people during what is normally the world’s busiest travel period due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The country has extended that holiday into February in an effort to keep the public at home. Many large public events and gatherings have also been cancelled, while a number of major tourist sites including The Forbidden City and Shanghai Disneyland have closed until further notice.

Canada does not have a consular presence in Wuhan, but Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canadians are advised to avoid non-essential travel to the Chinese province of Hubei due to the heavy travel restrictions currently in place.

“We are in contact with a number of Canadians on the ground, providing consular assistance with respect to their specific needs,” Champagne said. “We are also liaising with our international partners to look at options to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all Canadians who would need consular assistance at this moment.”

There are a number of Canadians who have registered with the voluntary Registration of Canadians Abroad service, and Champagne encouraged Canadians to register to help stay in touch and have access to up-to-date information.

DIFFERENT ERA THAN SARS

Health officials said that Ontario has implemented enhanced screening measures at 911 call centres to help identify potential cases of the virus and to ensure that first responders arrive in appropriate protective gear when necessary.

Health officials underscored the difference between the SARS outbreak 17 years ago and the coronavirus.

“We’re constantly learning and updating our knowledge in respect of this novel virus,” said de Villa, who added that the new virus was only identified a month ago.

“To have this much information, and this much understanding, and this much knowledge shared globally I think is actually quite remarkable and a positive statement on the international public health community.”

But experts say there is still a lot of unknown factors regarding the coronavirus, including when a patient would be considered no longer infectious.

Williams said the number of infections are also too small at the moment to get an accurate measure of the virus’ communicability. For the time being, it appeared to be less than influenza A, for example, but that much more information is needed. “It’s still early days,” he said.

He also said the ministry also has comprehensive preparedness measures in place should the situation escalate.

“Preparedness is such that we are well ahead of where we were back in 2003, where everyone thinks about SARS. It’s a different world, different era now.”

Health officials also noted that the number of staff trained for infectious diseases is significantly greater than it was during SARS, with hospitals having infections control committees and infection control practitioners.

The best advice for the public is to stay at home if an individual feels sick or has symptoms of a viral respiratory illness, and to seek medical attention if symptoms worsen, said de Villa. Good practices like getting the annual flu shot, hand washing or using hand sanitizer, covering a cough or sneeze, and not touching the face and mouth are important.

“Those are the elements that are core and fundamental to respiratory virus prevention … staying home when one is sick is also one of the cornerstones with respect respiratory virus prevention,” said de Villa, but added that the biggest risk factor in this case remained travel to the affected areas.

Canadians who need emergency consular help can contact the Embassy of Canada in Beijing at 86 (10) 5139-4000. Canadians can also call the department’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa at +1 613-996-8885 or email sos@international.gc.ca.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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Why Canada's record population growth is helping – and hurting – the economy – CTV News

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Canada has recorded the fastest population growth in 66 years, increasing by 1.3 million people, or 3.2 per cent, in 2023, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The country has not seen such growth since 1957, when the spike was attributed to the baby boom and an influx of immigrants fleeing Hungary.

The vast majority of Canada’s growth last year was due to immigration, with temporary residents — which includes foreign workers and international students — making up the largest proportion of newcomers.

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“We need people coming to Canada to help with our economy,” says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of planning at the University of Toronto. “There are many jobs and professions where there are vacancies, and that is having an impact, whether in the healthcare sector or trades and construction sector.”

Siemiatycki adds immigrants also bring “ingenuity… resources… and culture” to Canada.

Newcomers are relied on to help keep pace with Canada’s aging population and declining fertility rates, but the influx also presents a challenge for a country struggling to build the homes and infrastructure needed for immigrants.

“It’s an incredibly large shock for the economic system to absorb because of just the sheer number of people coming into the country in a short period of time,” says Robert Kavcic. a senior economist and director with BMO Capital Markets.

“The reality is population can grow extremely fast, but the supply side of the economy like housing and service infrastructure, think health care and schools, can only catch up at a really gradual pace,” Kavcic says. “So there is a mismatch right now.”

The impact of that mismatch can most acutely be seen in the cost of rent, services and housing.

In December, Kavcic wrote in a note that Canada needs to build 170,000 new housing units every three months to keep up with population growth, noting the industry is struggling to complete 220,000 units in a full year.

To address this, Ottawa has announced plans to cap the number of new temporary residents while also reducing the number of international student visas, a move economists say could offer some relief when it comes to housing and the cost of living.

“The arithmetic on the caps actual works relatively well because it would take us back down to 1 per cent population growth which we have been used to over the last decade and which is more or less absorbable by the economy,” Kavcic says. “The question is whether or not we see policy makers follow through and hit those numbers.”

Economists believe these changes could help ease inflationary pressures and may make a Bank of Canada rate cut more likely, but could also lead to slower GDP growth.

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Canada’s population hits 41M months after breaking 40M threshold – Global News

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Nine months after reaching a population of 40 million, Canada has cracked a new threshold.

As of Wednesday morning, it’s estimated 41 million people now call the country home, according to Statistics Canada’s live population tracker.

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The speed at which Canada’s population is growing was also reflected in new data released Wednesday by the federal agency: between Jan. 1 2023 and Jan. 1 2024, Canada added 1,271,872 inhabitants, a 3.2 per cent growth rate — the highest since 1957.

Most of Canada’s 3.2 per cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration. Without it, Canada’s population growth would have been 1.2 per cent, Statistics Canada said.


Click to play video: 'Business News: Job growth fails to keep pace with population'

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Business News: Job growth fails to keep pace with population


From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, Canada’s population increased by 241,494 people (0.6 per cent), the highest rate of growth in a fourth quarter since 1956.

Usha George, a professor at the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement at Toronto Metropolitan University, told Global News in June a booming population can benefit the economy.

“It is not the bodies we are bringing in; these are bodies that fill in the empty spaces in the labour market,” she said.

“They bring a very-high level of skills.”


Click to play video: 'Canadian millennials surpass baby boomers as dominant generation: StatCan'

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Canadian millennials surpass baby boomers as dominant generation: StatCan


However, Ottawa has recently sought to ease the flow of temporary immigration in a bid to ease cost-of-living woes.


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Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on March 21 Ottawa would set targets for temporary residents allowed into Canada to ensure “sustainable” growth in the number of temporary residents entering the nation.

The next day, BMO economist Robert Kavcic in a note to clients the new limits will have a positive impact on Canada’s rental market and overall housing crisis.

“We’ve been firm in our argument that Canada has had an excess demand problem in housing, and this is maybe the clearest example,” Kavcic said.

“Non-permanent resident inflows, on net, have swelled to about 800K in the latest year, with few checks and balances in place, putting tremendous stress on housing supply and infrastructure.”

Alberta gains, Ontario loses: A look at Canadian migration in 2023

If Alberta is truly calling, then it appears more Canadians are choosing to answer.

Putting the pun on the provincial government’s attraction campaign aside, Canada’s wild rose country saw the largest net gain in interprovincial migration in 2023, Statistics Canada said in Wednesday’s report.


Click to play video: 'Is Alberta ready for population growth?'

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Is Alberta ready for population growth?


The agency said 55,107 Canadians moved to Alberta last year, which was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data become available in 1972.

“Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada,” Statistics Canada said.

“Approximately 333,000 Canadians moved from one province or territory to another in 2023, the second-highest number recorded since the 1990s and the third straight year that interprovincial migration topped 300,000.”

Meanwhile, British Columbia had 8,624 more residents move out than in in 2023, meaning net interprovincial migration was negative for the first time since 2012, Statistics Canada said.

In general, the largest migration flows for British Columbia and Alberta are with each other, and most of the net loss from British Columbia in 2023 was to Alberta, it added.


Click to play video: '‘Enormous pressure’ expected in Ontario home care due to high growth of senior population'

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‘Enormous pressure’ expected in Ontario home care due to high growth of senior population


It also seems that good things may no longer be growing in Ontario; Canada’s most populous province lost 36,197 people to other regions in 2023, the biggest regional loss in 2023, Statistics Canada said.

That followed a loss of 38,816 people in 2022; the only other times a province has lost more than 35,000 people due to migration to other parts of Canada occurred in Quebec in 1977 and 1978.

Alberta aside, net interprovincial migration was also up in Nova Scotia (+6,169 people), New Brunswick (+4,790) and Prince Edward Island (+818), although all three Maritime provinces gained fewer interprovincial migrants in 2023 than in the two previous years, Statistics Canada said.

— with files from Uday Rana and Sean Previl

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