Anxious Canadians Await Federal Help as COVID-19 Cases Rise, Rules Tighten

People line up at a Service Canada office in Montreal on March 19, 2020. Canadians who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are struggling to make ends meet are anxiously awaiting federal help from an emergency $82-billion financial package passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday. Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

TORONTO—Canadians struggling to make ends meet amid the COVID-19 pandemic waited anxiously for promised federal help on Wednesday as the countrywide case toll soared through the 3,000 mark and authorities began going after people violating public health orders.

Hundreds of new cases were reported, with a total of 30 now dead nationally. Quebec alone had 326 new cases and two more deaths, while Ontario reported 100 more cases—its largest single-day jump.