The Shifting Goalposts of Canada’s Pandemic Policies

A look at the claims made and consistency—or lack thereof—in imposing various pandemic measures

Police stop and question a woman at the start of a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. COVID-19 curfew imposed by the province of Quebec, in Montreal on Dec. 31, 2021. The Canadian Press/Peter McCabe

News Analysis

From flip-flopping on mask mandates, to initially leaving borders unprotected against travellers from the pandemic’s epicentre, to applying lockdowns inconsistently, to piling on more conflicting measures amid rising Omicron cases, Canadians have endured a never-ending see-saw of COVID-19 policies since the virus outbreak began in China—in many cases presented in the name of undisputed science.