homes have been impacted heavily by the pandemic. on april 13, tam reported that at least half of covid-19 deaths in canada were linked to long-term care homes (with the exact number varying by province), and that "these deaths will continue to increase, even as the epidemic growth rate slows down. tam cited factors such as outside visitors, communal living spaces, and staff being transferred among multiple facilities as particular vulnerabilities. the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing staffing issues at some facilities, including underpaid staff and being understaffed in general. on april 28, tam stated that as many as 79 percent of canada's covid-19 fatalities occurred in long-term care homes. health canada issued recommendations for long-term care homes. they encouraged them to restrict outside visitors and volunteers, restrict employees from being transferred between multiple facilities, provide personal protective equipment, enforce physical distancing during meals, screen staff and essential visitors. on april 15, trudeau announced that the federal government planned to provide additional pay to long-term care workers. canadian armed forces in april 2020, the department of national defence gave the provinces the option to get canadian armed forces assistance in combating the pandemic in long-term care facilities. quebec was the first to act, with military personnel arriving on april 17. ontario responded next, with premier doug ford requesting military aid on april 22. travel and entry restrictions on march 14, canada recommended against any international travel and advised those returning from outside of canada, except for essential workers (such as flight crew), to self-isolate for 14 days. the quarantine act was invoked by hajdu on march 26, making self-isolation a legal mandate for travelers (excluding essential workers) returning to the country. it also prohibits those who are symptomatic from using public transit as transport to their place of self-isolation, and prohibiting self-isolation in settings where they may come in contact with those who are vulnerable (people with pre-existing conditions and the elderly). since march 16, only canadian citizens and their immediate families, permanent residents, and u.s. citizens had been allowed to enter the country. the only exceptions are flight crews, diplomats, and trade and commerce. travellers showing covid-19 symptoms were not allowed to board flights into canada, regardless of their citizenship. international flights to canada from outside the caribbean, mexico, and the u.s. were instructed to land at either calgary international airport, montréal–trudeau international airport, toronto pearson international airport, or vancouver international airport. an almost empty skytrain in vancouver on a saturday afternoon from march 20, canada and the united states temporarily restricted all non-essential travel across their land border. the u.s. did not restrict non-essential air travel into the country by canadians, but americans were prohibited from boarding flights into canada per u.s. restrictions—a non-reciprocal restriction that was criticized as being contradictory. on april 16, trudeau stated that the canada/u.s. border restrictions would remain in place "for a significant amount of time". the next day, canada and the united states had agreed to extend their entry restrictions, which were to expire on april 21, for an additional 30 days beyond that date. on april 20, the federal government introduced the "arrivecan" mobile app, which is used to conduct entry screenings and submit documentation; use of the app became mandatory in november. since march 30, individuals showing covid-19 symptoms were to be refused boarding on domestic flights (10 seats or more) and passenger trains. however, it excluded buses and intercity passenger rail services. from april 20, all travellers were required to wear face masks while departing and arriving on air travel, including during security screenings. those who did not comply were prevented from proceeding. as the land border with the united states continued to be closed to non-essential travel, the canadian government announced plans in october to allow family members to reunite under compassionate terms. within the country, the canadian provinces of new brunswick, prince edward island, nova scotia and newfoundland and labrador established the atlantic bubble, restricting travel from other provinces but allowing free movement amongst residents of the member provinces. on january 6, 2021, the federal government announced that all incoming travellers must present proof of a negative covid-19 pcr test conducted within 72 hours of their departure time to board flights into canada. on january 29, 2021, due to concerns surrounding sars-cov-2 variants, trudeau announced a series of new travel restrictions. travellers arriving in canada would be required to receive a covid-19 pcr test on arrival and must quarantine at an "approved hotel" at their own expense. at the same time, they awaited test results or recovery and were subject to "increased surveillance" during the remainder of the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. foreign flights were only allowed to land in calgary, montreal, toronto, or vancouver. to discourage non-essential travel, the major airlines agreed to suspend all flights to the caribbean and mexico until april 30, 2021. on february 12, it was announced a third pcr test would also be required at the end of the 14-day quarantine period. the new rules for international travel went into effect on february 22. in july 2021, the government lifted the quarantine requirement for canadian citizens and permanent residents re-entering the country, provided they submit proof of vaccination via the arrivecan app or website. on august 9, 2021, canada reopened its land border to american citizens and permanent residents that are fully-vaccinated. however, the u.s. land border remained closed to canadians entering the united states until november 8, 2021, when the u.s. began to allow non-essential land travel into the country, with a vaccine mandate for residents 18 and over (enforced via random checks). however, as with air travel, anyone re-entering the country was required to present proof of a negative covid-19 pcr test conducted within 72 hours of their arrival; this test could alternatively be obtained in canada if the traveler had been in the country for less than 72 hours. on october 6, 2021, it was announced that all passengers of federally-regulated transportation over the age of 12 (including air travel, cruises, and via rail or rocky mountaineer trains) would be required to be fully-vaccinated beginning october 30, 2021. until november 30, 2021, a recent negative test was also accepted. beginning january 15, 2022, international truckers entering the country were required to be fully-vaccinated; this decision instigated a protest convoy—backed largely by supporters of alt-right and far-right movements—which culminated in a multi-day occupation of downtown ottawa, and evolved into a general protest against all covid-19 vaccine mandates. beginning april 1, 2022, pre-entry pcr testing requirements were dropped for fully-vaccinated travelers entering the country. however, air travelers were still subject to random testing as part of surveillance for variants (which would not require self-isolation). on september 26, 2022, it was announced that all remaining covid-19-related travel restrictions and mandates would be dropped effective october 1, 2022; this includes vaccine requirements, masking requirements, random tests, and the requirement to submit documentation via arrivecan. however on december 31, 2022, the government announced that mandatory testing will be reinstated for travellers entering from china beginning january 5, 2023. governmental cancellations a first ministers' meeting scheduled for march 12 and 13 was cancelled after trudeau and his wife sophie grégoire entered self-isolation. the canadian house of commons was suspended between march 14 and april 20, immediately after passing the new north american free trade deal. the federal budget, previously scheduled for march 20, was also suspended. bank of canada rate changes in march 2020, the bank of canada twice lowered its overnight rate target by 50 basis points—first to 1.25 percent on march 4, and then to 0.75 percent on march 13. it cited the "negative shocks to canada's economy arising from the covid-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices" in explaining the move. on march 27, the bank lowered the rate a third time to 0.25 percent, citing "serious consequences for canadians and for the economy" due to the covid-19 pandemic. the bank also launched a program to "alleviate strains in the short-term funding markets" and another program to acquire government of canada securities at a minimum of $5 billion per week. federal aid main article: federal aid during the covid-19 pandemic in canada on march 18, the federal government announced an $82-billion response package with a variety of measures. on march 25, the covid-19 emergency response act received royal assent from governor general julie payette. the measures in this first package included: canada child benefit (ccb): payments for the 2019–20-year were increased by $300 per child. goods and services tax (gst) credit: the maximum annual gst credit payment amount for the 2019–20 year was doubled. canada emergency response benefit (cerb): this new benefit provided a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to four months for those who had lost their job, were sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone sick with covid-19, as well as working parents staying home to take care of their kids. canada student loans: a six-month moratorium was placed on repayment. temporary business wage subsidy: eligible small employers received a three-month 10 percent wage subsidy. tax flexibility: the income tax filing deadline was also extended from april 30, 2020, to june 1, 2020. tax payments were deferred to september 2020. the cerb launched on april 6. on april 15, trudeau announced an extension to the cerb to workers making up to $1,000 per month and that the government planned to work with the provinces to implement salary top-ups for essential workers who make less than $2,500 per month. the canada emergency wage subsidy (cews) was announced on april 1, an expanded version of the temporary business wage subsidy. the parliament reconvened on april 11 to pass the covid-19 emergency response act, no. 2 on division. it implemented the cews, allowing eligible companies to receive a 75 percent subsidy on each of their employees' wages (up to their first $58,700) for 12 weeks retroactive to march 15. trudeau introduced new financial aid programs on april 10, including the canada emergency business account (ceba), which offers loans, interest-free until the end of 2022, of up to $40,000 for small- and medium-sized businesses. the ceba was expanded on april 16 to make more businesses eligible. trudeau announced the canada emergency student benefit (cesb) on april 22. on april 30, parliamentary budget officer yves giroux issued a report projecting the federal deficit for the fiscal year 2020 could be in excess of $252 billion, based on nearly $146 billion in spending on federal aid measures. on october 12, 2020, the federal government rolled out a new income support program after the ending of cerb, the canada recovery benefit (crb). another program, the canada recovery caregiving benefit (crcb), supports canadians working but have to take a break to care for dependents (a child below 12 years of age or a disabled family member). the benefit only applies if schools and care centres are closed or the dependent fell sick or contracted covid-19. industrial strategy on march 20, 2020, the government announced a plan to ramp up production of medical equipment, switching assembly lines to produce ventilators, masks, and other personal protective gear. companies will be able to access funds through the government's strategic innovation fund. the pm stated that canadian medical supply firms thornhill medical, medicom and spartan bioscience were looking to expand production. to address shortages and supply-chain disruption, canada passed emergency legislation that waived patent protection, giving the government, companies or organizations that it selects the right to produce patented products without permission from the patent holder. according to innovation, science and industry minister navdeep bains, "the country's entire industrial policy will be refocused to prioritize the fight against covid-19". virtual care during the covid-19 pandemic, 34% of people consulted their doctors over the phone. in may 2020, justin trudeau announced an investment of $240.5 million to support the growth of virtual care and mental health tools in canada. states of emergency restrictions imposed by provincial and territorial governments province or territory state of emergency gatherings banned border status mask mandate vaccine passport sources start date end date start date end date alberta march 17, 2020 ongoing no restrictions open september 4, 2021 march 1, 2022 terminated british columbia march 18, 2020 june 30, 2021 no restrictions open august 25, 2021 march 11, 2022 terminated