COVID-19 in Canada: A Six-month Update on Social and Economic Impacts

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Foreword

COVID-19 in Canada: A Six-month Update on Social and Economic Impacts

COVID-19 has touched the lives of all Canadians.

Since the pandemic began, Statistics Canada has monitored its impacts to provide information on how COVID-19 has affected diverse communities across the country.

A data portrait tells how Canadians are faring at the pandemic's six-month mark:

• Changes in Canadians' concerns and response to COVID-19 — Canadians' response, shifting health concerns, precautions, generational differences
• Economic impacts — Business outputs, labour, worker security, structural changes, business survival, investment
• Health and Social impacts — Mental health, vulnerable people, school disruptions, parenting
• Justice impacts — Policing, victim services, corrections.

Did you know?

Statistics Canada's website is filled with information about COVID-19!

• Statistics about COVID-19 received over 1.6 million visits in the first six months of the pandemic.
• The COVID-19: A data perspective portal has been visited more than 200,000 times.
• The new publication StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada has released over 85 analytical articles on COVID-19.
• Data tables on confirmed COVID-19 cases have been viewed more than 170,000 times.

Canada: An overview in statistics

Population

• Population: 38,005,238 (July 1, 2020)
• Average age: 41.4 years (July 1, 2020)
• Life expectancy at birth: 79.9 years for men and 84.1 years for women (2018)
• Fertility rate: 1.47 births per woman (2019)
• Indigenous population: 1,673,785 (2016)
• Visible minority population: 7,674,580 (2016; as defined by the Employment Equity Act)

Society

• Most common mother tongues: English, French, Chinese languages, Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, German and Urdu (2016)
• People employed: 18.5 million (September 2020)
• Unemployment rate: 9.0% (September 2020)
• Median after-tax income of families and unattached Canadians: $61,400 (2018)
• Average weekly earnings: $1,118.40 (July 2020)
• Crime rate: 5,488 per 100,000 population (2018)

Economy

• Gross domestic product: $1,879 billion in July 2020 (chained 2012 dollars at annual rate)
• Retail sales: $52.9 billion (July 2020)
• Exports: $44.9 billion (August 2020)
• Imports: $47.4 billion (August 2020)
• Manufacturing sales: $53.1 billion (July 2020)
• Building permits: $8.1 billion (August 2020)
• Federal government revenue: $335.1 billion (2018)

Changes in Canadians' concerns and response to COVID-19

Canadians continue to take precautions for COVID-19

Canadians continue to physically distance, wear masks and take other precautions to reduce cases and avoid overwhelming the health care system.

In July, more than 90% of people said that they would continue to wash their hands more often, and almost all Canadians reported avoiding crowds and large gatherings and keeping a safe distance from others.

• Results were similar at the start of the pandemic.
• Some variations exist between provinces. In a June web panel survey, 90% of respondents in British Columbia and Atlantic Canada said they would avoid crowds and large gatherings, compared with 71% of Quebec respondents.

As restrictions eased, some precautions were less likely to be followed:

• Canadians were less likely to stock up on essentials—47% (July) from 63% (March).
• Canadians were less likely to avoid leaving the house—74% (July) from 90% in (March).

Main precautions taken by Canadians as a result of COVID-19, by period of web panel survey, 2020

Concern about the health and social impacts of COVID-19 has fallen since the start of the pandemic

In July, Canadians were less likely to report being very or extremely anxious about health:

• their own health—27% (July) from 36% (March)
• the health of a household member—41% (July) from 54% (March)
• the health of Canadians—42% (July) from 69% (March).

The decline in health concerns was similar across regions, for immigrants and people born in Canada, as well as for men and women. Older Canadians posted larger declines.

After cases fell in June, Canadians' concerns about the pandemic's health consequences dropped in July. The largest declines were concerns about cases overloading the health system (down 32 percentage points) and about Canadians' health (down 28 percentage points).

Proportion of Canadians who are very or extremely concerned about selected issues, by period of web panel survey, 2020

Concerns that many Canadians are at higher risk of severe outcomes

Evidence suggests that most people (74%) who were hospitalized with COVID-19 reported one or more pre-existing chronic conditions.

In Canada, 11 million people (38%) aged 18 and older have at least one health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. At higher risk are:

• seniors aged 80 and older (72%)
• people living in low-income households (40%)
• First Nations people (48%) and Métis (41%).

Rates were lower among visible minority groups compared with those who identified as White (40%):

• 25% among Arab/West Asian Canadians
• 26% among East/Southeast Asian Canadians
• 35% among Black Canadians

(Note: rates unadjusted for differences in age structure)

Proportion of those with at least one chronic^Footnote 1 condition related to severe symptoms of COVID-19 by age and gender, Canada, 2017-2018 (household population)

Most Canadians would get tested for COVID-19 if symptomatic or in contact with others who were symptomatic

About 6 in 10 Canadians would get tested if they experienced symptoms (64%) or were in contact with someone who had symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19 (59%).

• Women (67%) are more likely to get tested than men (60%).
• Canadians with a bachelor's degree (69%) are more likely to get tested than those with a high school diploma (61%).
• People living in Atlantic Canada (72%) are more likely to get tested than in Ontario (65%) or British Columbia (55%).

Just over one-third of Canadians (36%) reported that they would get tested if they were not experiencing symptoms but had concerns about infecting others.

Canadians' reasons to get tested for the COVID-19 virus, if testing were widely available

More than half of Canadians are willing to use a contact tracing application

More than half of Canadians (56%) consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that they would use a contact tracing application.

Although younger Canadians are more likely to socialize in large groups, only 16% said they would be "very likely" to use a contact tracing application, compared with 33% of seniors.

Concerns about privacy and government access to location data are the leading reasons why people would not use a contact tracing application.

People in the Prairie provinces (17%) and Quebec (21%) are less likely to report they would be "very likely" to use a contact tracing application compared with Atlantic Canada (28%), Ontario (28%) and British Columbia (30%).

Reasons why people who were unlikely to use a contact tracing app would not install it, June 2020

Most Canadians are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine when available

More than half of Canadians (58%) said that they would very likely get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available.

By contrast, 44% of Canadians are not very likely^{Footnote 2} to get a vaccine. Less likely to get a vaccine are

• people younger than 65 years
• those with less than a bachelor's degree
• landed and non-landed immigrants.

The most common reasons for not getting a vaccine were

• lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine (54%)
• concern about the risks and side effects (52%)
• waiting until it seems safe (35%)
• not considering it necessary (26).

Proportion of Canadians not very likely to get a vaccine, by selected characteristics, June 2020

Did you know?

Since March 17, the agency has held 55 teleconference briefings with media on a number of topics:

• employment
• prices
• manufacturing
• retail
• economic production.

Statistics Canada data were cited in more than 65,000 news articles in the past five months.

Economic impacts

COVID-19 brings unprecedented declines in business outputs

COVID-19 restrictions brought about severe contractions in most industrial sectors, including many service-based industries that typically support the economy during conventional downturns.

The road to recovery will involve major adaptations for businesses and households, which pose challenges for an equitable and resilient recovery.

Real gross domestic product

Pandemic brings severe declines in most types of economic activity

With families facing job and income uncertainty, household spending fell by a record 13% during the second quarter of 2020. 

Employment earnings fell by almost 9%. Household disposable income rose by almost 11% because of government transfers and income supports. 

Higher disposable income, coupled with lower spending, pushed the household savings rate to just over 28%, up from about 8% in the first quarter.

Strong retail numbers in May and June and housing numbers in July indicate consumers are opening their pocketbooks. But questions remain about the long-term impact of the pandemic on mid- and lower-income households. The outlook on business investment remains weak and the trade outlook is mixed, depending largely on developments in the United States.

Historic declines in household spending, business investment, and international trade as the economy contracted by 11.5% in the second quarter

As businesses reopen, stark differences are seen across sectors

The COVID-19 business recovery, especially in services, is very uneven. Many professional services are rebounding quickly, while other services struggle to recover. Some sectors, particularly tourism and hospitality, face major logistical challenges. In June, the accommodation and food services sector was at 55% of its pre-pandemic level.

Economic output continues to rebound as more businesses reopen

Real gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage of pre-COVID-19 levels, selected service industries industries

Economic output: COVID-19 shutdown leads to historic declines in labour market activity

From February to April, 5.5 million workers were affected by the pandemic shutdown. By August, the number had fallen to 1.8 million.

Labour market indicators:

Unemployment rate:

• 10.2% (August)
• 10.9% (July)
• 13.7% (May)
• 5.6% (February)

Employment rate:

• 58.0% (August)
• 57.3% (July)
• 52.1% (April)
• 61.8% (February)

From February to April, 3 million jobs were lost, including almost 2 million in full-time work.

Employment rose by 1.9 million from April to August. Total employment in August was 5.3% below its pre-pandemic level.

Employment, by type of work

Employment is recovering, but steep losses remain in certain sectors

Employment in several heavily affected industries (e.g., construction, manufacturing) has rebounded to more than 90% of pre-COVID-19 levels.

By contrast, overall employment in accommodation and food services remains more than 20% below the level in February.

Net employment losses, February to August, 2020

Immigrants and visible minority groups face much higher risk of COVID-19-related work stoppages

Recent immigrants were more likely than Canadian-born workers to lose jobs in March and April, mainly because they are often new to the job market and are more likely to work in lower-wage jobs.

Poverty rates in 2015 among working families, by ethnicity of major income earner

Percentage of workers employed in accommodation and food services and arts, entertainment and recreation, 2016

Low-wage workers have been affected by COVID-19 shutdowns to a far greater extent than during the 2008/2009 recession

Average monthly layoff rates of employees, by wage decile, 2007, 2009 and 2020^{Footnote 3}

Percentage change, from 2019 to 2020, in the number of employees working at least half their usual hours, by 2019 wage decile

Youth, less-educated workers, women, recent immigrants and temporary employees have been hit harder during the pandemic

Among temporary employees aged 25 to 54, employment with significant hours of work was 20% lower in August 2020 than in August 2019.

Among permanent employees aged 25 to 54, the gap was 3%.

Employees with jobs that can be done from home have generally fared better during the pandemic.

Percentage change, from 2019 to 2020, in the proportion of population employed and working at least half of their usual hours

Individuals aged 15 to 24 versus others

Women versus men

Individuals aged 15 and over, by immigration status

Individuals aged 25 to 54, by education

Structural challenges in heavily affected sectors—transportation

Disruptions to Canadian airlines are unprecedented

Percentages indicate year-over-year changes.

Severe declines in public transit as workers adjust to the new normal

Structural challenges in heavily affected sectors—commercial real estate

Commercial rents fell 3.1% in the second quarter of 2020, after edging down 0.2% in the first quarter. The declines were widespread across building types and in every province and territory.

As of the end of the second quarter, a small percentage of commercial property owners indicated that they had applied for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program on behalf of their tenants.

The long-term outlook of the commercial real estate market remains in flux. Tenants are assessing their future office space needs as large numbers of corporate employees continue to work from home. This could put further downward pressure on new office lease rates.

The pandemic pulled down commercial rents across Canada

Structural challenges in heavily affected sectors—retail trade

The retail sector rebounded quickly from storefront closures as companies developed or enhanced their online platforms. From February to May 2020, total retail sales fell by 18%, while retail e-commerce sales doubled. By June, the volume of retail activity had surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels, while payroll employment in retail industries was 15% below levels in February.

Retail e-commerce sales soar to an all-time high

E-commerce sales increase more among non-essential retailers

Digitalization drives structural change

Employment in the digital economy has outpaced even high growth areas in the service sector. Digitally intensive industries have higher rates of innovation and more high-growth firms than other sectors.

Employment growth in selected sectors since the 2008/2009 recession

Percentage of high-growth firms, by industry

Risks and opportunities associated with digitalization in the workplace are unevenly distributed

Lower-income workers have a greater risk of job automation and less opportunity for telework.

Percentage of workers at high-risk of automation-related job transformation, by percentile of employment income

Percentage of adults in jobs that can be done from home, by family earnings decile, dual-earner families, 2019

Environmental and clean technology products and services—investing in resilience and growth

Environmental and clean technology (ECT) products and services include clean electricity, clean technology, manufactured goods, scientific services, research and development services, constructions services, and support services.

• Clean electricity production accounts for over 40% of GDP in this sector.
• ECT products and services account for 3.2% of GDP, 1.9 % of Canadian exports and 2.6% of imports.
• ECT activity accounts for about 320,000 jobs.

Share of total jobs attributable to ECT activity

Gross domestic product, ECT activities

Did you know?

Statistics Canada is partnering with universities to expand access to its data and help researchers respond to COVID-19.

The University of British Columbia harnessed the power of microdata to produce the Vancouver School of Economics COVID-19 Risk/Reward Assessment Tool. This tool is helping policy analysts and businesses make informed decisions

The Université du Québec à Montréal, McGill University and Dalhousie University are accessing microdata to evaluate the ongoing economic trade-offs inherent in policy decisions related to the COVID-19 crisis.

Western University is working with Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey data to examine the impact of COVID-19 on employment by gender.

The University of Toronto is working with Labour Force Survey data and new web panel data to study the economic impacts of the pandemic and the adoption of behaviours to contain the spread of COVID-19 across Canada.

Health and Social impacts

The pandemic has had a major impact on Canadians' quality of life

The pandemic has led to the lowest level of life satisfaction reported by Canadians since the time series started in 2003.

Finances, health and social contacts—three pillars of quality of life—have all been affected by COVID-19.

Average life satisfaction in Canada declined from 8.1 in 2018 to 6.7 in June 2020, a drop of 1.4 points on a scale of 0 to 10. This is about three times the size of the decline associated with being unemployed as opposed to employed (in non-pandemic times).

The share of Canadians rating their life satisfaction as 8 or above fell from 72% in 2018 to 40% in June 2020.

Outcomes are similar in the United Kingdom, where life satisfaction has declined by 1.2 points.

Canadians' ratings of their life satisfaction, 2018 and June 2020

In the face of COVID-19, youth and immigrants experienced largest declines in life satisfaction

Since the pandemic began, average life satisfaction among youth has fallen by 1.8 points, compared with a 1.2 point drop among older Canadians.

Before the pandemic, immigrants and people born in Canada generally reported similar levels of life satisfaction.

After COVID-19 began, average life satisfaction declined more among immigrants from Asia (-1.8 points) and the United States or Europe (-1.7 points) than among people born in Canada (-1.3 points).

Declines in average life satisfaction have been smaller in Atlantic Canada and in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (-1.1 points) and larger in British Columbia (-1.5 points).

Average life satisfaction reported by women and men did not differ significantly before or during the pandemic.

Average life satisfaction, by age group, Canada, 2018 and June 2020

Average life satisfaction, by immigration status, Canada 2018 and June 2020

Since the pandemic began, young Canadians have experienced the greatest decline in mental health

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fewer Canadians have reported having excellent or very good mental health—55% (July) from 68% (2019 pre-COVID-19).

Prior to COVID-19, youth aged 15 to 24 were the least likely to report excellent or very good mental health. During the pandemic, youth reported the greatest decline in mental health—40% (July)  from 60% (pre-COVID-19).

Seniors aged 65 and older are the only group who did not experience declines in mental health since the pandemic began.

Women continue to report lower levels of mental health compared with men (52% vs. 58%).

Proportion of Canadians reporting excellent or very good mental health pre- and post-COVID-19 by age group, Canada, 2019, and March and July 2020*

Visible minority groups are more likely to report poor mental health and impacts on their ability to meet financial obligations

In response to a pandemic crowdsourcing survey, members of visible minority groups (Visible minority groups include South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino and Arab) were more likely than White participants to

• report "fair" or "poor" self-rated mental health (28% vs. 23%)
• report symptoms consistent with moderate or severe generalized anxiety disorder (30% vs. 24%).

Visible minority groups were more likely to report that the pandemic had had a "moderate" or "major" impact on their ability to meet their financial obligations compared with White participants (35% vs. 22%). Rates were highest among

• South Asian participants—44%
• Black participants—38%
• Filipino participants—36%.

Proportion of participants by mental health outcome and specific population group designated as a visible minority

Immigrants are disproportionately working in jobs with greater COVID-19 exposure

Immigrants are more likely to be front-line or essential service workers, including workers in long-term care homes where the majority of deaths in Canada have occurred.

The proportion of  immigrants employed as nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates rose from 22% to 36% from 1996 to 2016.

Prior to COVID-19, visible minorities were overrepresented in this sector—34% of workers identified as visible minorities (compared with 21% in other sectors).

This trend has continued during COVID-19. In July, 24% of employed Filipino Canadians and 20% of employed Black Canadians worked in this industry, compared with 14% of all workers

Proportion of immigrants among nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates, Canada, 1996, 2006 and 2016

Since COVID-19 began, visible minorities have been more likely to report harassment, attacks and stigma

Added to the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, some people feel afraid of harassment or attacks based on race, ethnicity or skin colour.

Visible minority participants in a crowdsourcing survey were three times more likely to report a perceived increase in the frequency of harassment or attacks since COVID-19 began, compared with other respondents (18% vs. 6%).

The difference was most pronounced among Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian participants.

In addition, 27% of visible minority participants in a crowdsourcing survey on safety felt somewhat unsafe when walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, compared with 15% of participants not designated as visible minorities.

Perceived increase in harassment or attacks on the basis of race, ethnicity, or skin colour in neighbourhood since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, by visible minority group, Canada, 2020

Since the pandemic began, Indigenous people have reported worsening mental health, including increases in anxiety and stress

A relatively high percentage of Indigenous participants reported worsening mental health.

Indigenous women are particularly affected: 46% reported that their days are quite a bit or extremely stressful and 48% reported symptoms consistent with moderate or severe generalized anxiety disorder.

Mental health impacts since the start of the pandemic, Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants by gender, April 24 to May 11, 2020

Since the pandemic began, Indigenous people have reported greater economic impact

Although job losses have been similar, Indigenous people are feeling the financial impacts of COVID-19 more sharply than non-Indigenous people.

Among Indigenous participants, 37% experienced job loss or reduced work hours, compared with 35% of non-Indigenous participants.

Over one-third (36%) of Indigenous participants reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had had an impact on their ability to meet financial obligations or essential needs, compared with 25% of non-Indigenous participants.

Among those who experienced job loss or reduced work hours, 65% of Indigenous participants reported a strong or moderate financial impact, compared with 56% of non-Indigenous participants.

Self-reported employment and financial impact of COVID-19, May 26 to June 8, 2020

Since the pandemic began, Indigenous people have reported safety concerns

Among Indigenous participants, 17% reported that they believed crime had increased in their neighbourhood since the start of the pandemic, compared with 11% of non-Indigenous participants.

In addition, 22% of Indigenous participants felt that people in their neighbourhood are being harassed or attacked "often" or "sometimes" because of their race, ethnicity or skin colour. This compares with 11% of non-Indigenous participants.

Among Indigenous participants, 50% xpressed a high level of trust in the federal government to make good decisions about when and how to reopen businesses and public spaces. This compares with 62% of non-Indigenous participants.

Percentage reporting some level of concern about the impact of COVID-19 on violence in their home, April 24 to May 11, 2020

When asked about the impacts of COVID-19,

• 47% of Indigenous women reported being "very" or "extremely" concerned about family stress from confinement.
• 13% of Indigenous women reported some level of concern (somewhat/very/extremely) about violence in their home.

Since the pandemic began, many parents have reported being very or extremely concerned about their children and their families

Concerns for their children:

Concerns about balancing child care, schooling and work were highest among those with school-aged children aged 4 to 11.

Concerns for their families:

Concerns about balancing work and child care: A majority of families require child care in order to work

When child care services reopen, will your child or children attend?

• Preschoolers
  • Yes: 56%
  • No: 24%
• Young school age (4 to 11)
  • Yes: 27%
  • No 30%

When asked why they will not send their children to child care…

Among the 1 in 3 participants who said their children would resume attending, 88% said that they require child care in order to work

As some schools move to online learning, lack of access to the Internet and devices may disadvantage some children in low-income households

While only 1.2% of Canadian households with children do not have access to the Internet at home, the rate is higher among low-income households (4.2%) compared with high-income households (0.2%).

Low-income households are also more likely to have less than one device for each household member (63%) compared with 56% among high-income households.

Percentage of households with children younger than 18 who have less than one Internet-enabled device per household member

Percentage of households with children younger than 18 who have no home Internet

Families of children with disabilities have higher rates of concern about the impacts of COVID-19

A higher proportion of parents of children with disabilities are very or extremely concerned about their children's amount of screen time, loneliness or isolation, general mental health, school year and academic success.

Crowdsourcing participants' concerns for their children aged 0 to 14 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, by presence of children with disabilities at home

COVID-19 has disrupted postsecondary studies—more so for students in services, trades and health care

Early in the pandemic, 26% of postsecondary students who responded to a crowdsourcing questionnaire (100,000 participants) indicated that their education had been disrupted.

COVID-19's impact varied by discipline, with students in programs related to services (56%), trades (53%), or health care (41%) hardest hit.

Almost all participants (92%) reported that they had some or all of their courses moved online.

• Among students taking online courses, 7% reported they were unable to complete some or all of their course work.
• Non-completion rates were higher among students in services (10%), trades (13%), and health care (9%) compared with science and education (6%).

Postsecondary students are very concerned about their financial situations

In a postsecondary crowdsourcing survey early in the pandemic, students said that they were very or extremely concerned about their finances—even after the Canada Emergency Student Benefits (CESB) was announced. Concerns included

• using up savings—73% before CESB vs. 61% after
• paying for tuition next term—56% before CESB vs. 48% after
• taking on more student debt—73% before CESB) vs. 61% after CESB.

Factors associated with slower debt repayment include having a larger debt at graduation, being a single parent, reporting a disability and being a landed immigrant or a member of a visible minority group (college graduates only).

The pandemic's effects on youth employment may be felt for many years

The economic shutdown has had a huge impact on young Canadians. In April, just over 38% of young people aged 15 to 24 were working—a drop from 58% in February. By August, the employment rate had partly rebounded to just over 49%.

Recent gains for youth employment have been in part-time work. Full-time work has fallen since April and is down almost one-quarter from pre-pandemic levels, particularly reflecting job losses among young women.

The class of 2020 could lose $23,000 to $44,000 in cumulative earnings over the next five years if the youth unemployment rate reaches 28% in 2020 and $8,000 to $15,000 if the rate is 19%.

Unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24, February to August 2020

Since the pandemic, youth have been more likely to increase their use of substances — particularly cannabis

Poor mental health has been shown to be associated with increased use of substances during the pandemic.

Youth aged 15 to 34 continue to be most likely to have increased their use of cannabis during the pandemic—12 %.

Prior to COVID-19, 14% of Canadians reported consuming cannabis—the rate was 24% among youth aged 15 to 24.

Proportion of Canadians reporting an increased use of substances during COVID-19, by age group, July 2020

Did you know?

Statistics Canada continues to help Canadians understand and use statistics!

Webinars help Canadians make the most of Statistics Canada data during the pandemic:

• An Analysis of Recent Issues Faced by the Canadian Pork Industry
• Impact of COVID-19 on Transportation Services Price Indexes
• COVID-19's Impacts on the Wholesale Trade Sector: Sales and Prices
• A Brief Overview of the Canadian Statistical Geospatial Explorer.

Register online to catch the next webinar!

The agency has also released a number of videos to help Canadians use its data:

• Check out the Data Literacy Training videos and the agency's YouTube channel.

Justice impacts

Police calls for service increased, while police-reported crime declined

During the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 17 police services in Canada reported a 16% decrease in some criminal incidents, compared with the same period the year before.

Police reported fewer incidents of:

shoplifting (-6%), residential breaking and entering (-22%), motor vehicle theft (-5%), and assault (-11%), and sexual assaults (-27%), including by a family member.

Calls for service increased 7%:

wellness checks (+12%), domestic disturbances (+12%), and mental health-related calls, such as a person in an emotional crisis (+11%).

Changing landscape of vulnerability—victim services adapt to COVID-19

Social isolation, loss of employment and reduced income are factors known to increase the risk of domestic violence, and these conditions have been heightened during the pandemic.

Just over half (54%) of responding victim services reported an increase in the number of victims of domestic violence that they served between mid-March and early July.

Most victim services found ways to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic to continue serving their clients, such as enhancing cleaning measures, shifting personnel to working from home, or using technology to communicate with clients.

Perceived changes in the number of victims served since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020

Correctional services reduce custodial populations to mitigate COVID-19 health risks

While balancing public safety concerns, correctional institutions have taken steps to lessen public health risks associated with COVID-19 by reducing the number of people held in custody.

The measure led to an unprecedented 16% drop in the average daily count of adults in custody from February to April. Historically, monthly changes in counts are rarely more than 1%.

By early August, there had been 1,496 COVID-19 tests conducted on the federal custodial population. Close to one-quarter (24%) were positive.

The average count of adults in federal custody fell by 1%, whereas counts were down by one-quarter (25%) for those in provincial or territorial custody.

Total adult custodial population by year (2019 and 2020) and month (February, March and April)

Did you know?

Statistics Canada is using social media to reach out to Canadians during the pandemic!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube.

From April to September 2020, we

• published 4,463 social media posts
• recorded 18,361,193 total impressions
• had 512,209 interactions on the agency's social media platforms
• added 38,689 new followers.