On January 25, 2020, Canadians were still living the way they always had: commuting to the office, visiting friends, dining out, hugging loved ones, going on vacation. But the announcement that day of Canada’s first COVID-19 case sparked a chain of events that would soon change everything.
In March, with cases rising, health officials began implementing a series of measures that would fundamentally change the number of Canadians. Bans and requests for physical distancing resulted in companies moving from home to work, travel restrictions, rules on how to wear masks, cancellation of major events and video conferencing to replace face-to-face interactions as people were asked not to see anyone, including loved ones.
Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, says the biggest change in daily life for Canadians has been isolation from friends, family and co-workers.
“I think the root of many of these changes are these restrictions on our mobility, which take different forms, be it interacting with family and friends or seeing people we are used to in our daily life, as opposed to on screens”, he said.
Cambridge Elementary School, which has been closed by Fraser Health for two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak, can be seen on Sunday November 15, 2020 in Surrey, BC. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Darryl Dyck
An online poll conducted for Jedwab’s group in September found that over 90 percent of 1,500 respondents said COVID-19 had changed their lives, with most citing inability to see family and friends as the biggest factors .
While few Canadians have remained untouched by the pandemic, women, newcomers to Canada, and people who have already been economically and socially vulnerable appear to be the hardest hit by job losses, according to Jedwab.
Here’s a look at how COVID-19 has changed the daily lives of some Canadians of different groups:
senior citizens
For Bill VanGorder, a 78-year-old retiree from Halifax, the pandemic has temporarily halted his active social life and favorite pastime as a volunteer in the local theater and music scene.
“Theater people, as you may know, are people who love to hug and not being able to hug at these times was probably one of the toughest things to do,” he said in a telephone interview.
He sees himself happy because at least he and his wife Esther have each other, unlike many of his single friends who are completely isolated. Many older people, who are at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19, have difficulty staying in touch with family or finding people to help them with household chores.
VanGorder, who works with the Canadian Association of Retirees, also believes that unclear government news, particularly about when older adults will have access to the vaccine, “creates great fear and suspicion about the system” in already nervous seniors.
Personal protective equipment will be shown in the COVID-19 ICU at St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday April 21, 2020. A recent survey conducted by the Canadian Medical Association found that most doctors who responded did not see any improvement in the supply of personal protective equipment over the past month. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward
But while the pandemic has been harsh, he says there have been silver linings too. He and many of his friends have learned to use platforms like Zoom and FaceTime that help seniors keep in touch with relatives and connect with their communities.
“We think the positive is that this knowledge will naturally continue after COVID and will be real advancement so that older adults can feel more involved in everything that is going on around them,” he said.
The first thing he will do when things go back to normal is to hug his grandchildren and theater buddies, he said.
students
With classes going online, many students have had to adapt to living and learning in small spaces, and being isolated from friends and campus life when lifelong friendships and social networks can be vital.
According to Bryn de Chastelain, an Ontario resident who studies at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and the United States, small living spaces, the inability to travel home, financial fears, and job insecurities make many students feel “bigger the isolation ”contributed the chairman of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.
While he believes the schools did their best to support the students, de Chastelain says that many students have seen their mental health suffer.
“A number of students really have problems studying from home and studying online, and I think a number of strategies that students are familiar with are very difficult to replicate in the online environment,” he said.
parents
Schools across the country closed for several months in the spring, ushering in a challenging time for parents suddenly forced to balance full-time care, work and the safety of their families.
The reopening of the schools in autumn brought different challenges depending on the COVID-19 situation and approach in the individual provinces. In Ontario, some parents chose to study full-time online while others were forced to when Premier Doug Ford extended the winter break. In Quebec, which doesn’t allow long-distance option for most students, some reluctant parents had no choice but to send their children back to class.
“I think insecurity, not just for children, but for everything – work, life relationships and everything – was certainly the subject of COVID,” said Doug Liberman, a Montreal father of two.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said in an April 14, 2020 story that half of Canada’s deaths from COVID-19 have occurred in nursing homes. (Photo from Canadian Press)
According to Liberman, the biggest challenge was balancing the health and safety of his family by keeping his grocery business going and maintaining a sense of normalcy for his two girls, ages 10 and 12.
For his family, this meant trying to spend time outdoors but also accepting more screen time and ultimately getting things done day in and day out.
“I certainly think we certainly have no answer and I think we did the best we could, like everyone else,” he said.
Morgan Lowrie, the Canadian press
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