Canada

Canada will be watching the United States closely for teachable moments in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, April 23, 2020, as regional leaders in both countries began taking tentative steps along the road to recovery in an unfamiliar new post-pandemic era.

Canada's charities are getting a $350-million injection of federal funding while they deal with growing revenue gaps related to COVID-19, as the federal government considers a request for billions more to help community groups seeing a surge in demand for their services.

Sex workers saw their incomes disappear overnight when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread in Canada. Now many are in desperate situations: in need of food, rent, basic necessities. Some are now homeless and without any income.

Canada has extended its border closure with the United States for 30 days.

Indigenous and environmental groups in the U.S. are pressuring a federal judge to shut down work on the disputed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Nebraska less than two weeks after it started, because of fears over workers spreading the coronavirus and worries about a future spill.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to let Donald Trump down gently on Thursday, April 16, 2020, warning that Canada is still a long way from being ready to agree to relax mutual travel restrictions along its border with the United States.

Canada and its G7 allies confronted U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, April 16, 2020, over his decision to cut funding to the World Health Organization, as they stressed solidarity with a key international organization during the COVID-19 crisis.

President Donald Trump signalled on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, that he's prepared to support easing travel restrictions along the Canada-U.S. border sooner rather than later — although the feeling may not be mutual, given the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.

In the time of the novel coronavirus, Canada and the United States seem to be playing to type: the friendly apologizers of the Great White North coming together against a common enemy, America's combative revolutionaries threatening to tear each other apart.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every province and territory. Canada's chief public health officer and her provincial counterparts are encouraging people to wash their hands, give each other space and wear a mask if they are sick or a homemade one if they believe they could have been exposed to the virus and are not showing any symptoms.

Employers bringing thousands of agricultural labourers into Canada in the coming weeks will be required to quarantine them before they can work, and the federal government is promising to offset some of the costs.

Canadian oil wells will continue to be shut down amid weak global oil prices despite an agreement to limit production struck by OPEC and other major producers on the weekend, producers say.

News that a deal was finalized by OPEC and other oil producing nations to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day is being welcomed in Canada, where provinces have suffered drastic revenue losses due to rock-bottom crude prices.

In war, as the saying goes, truth is the first casualty. In a global pandemic, it seems trust doesn't fare too well either.

Long-haul truckers are playing an important role in bringing supplies into Canada, but some people are concerned not enough is being done to ensure they aren't transporting COVID-19 with them.