Foreward from the Chief Statistician of Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on Canada's economy and society. As a purposeful response to a public health crisis, the policies enacted to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in unprecedented disruptions in the social and economic lives of Canadians, changing how they interact, learn, work, and consume. While disorienting in the near term, the longer-term impacts of these changes may prove transformative, accelerating many of the trends towards digitalization and automation and the changes in the quality of work that were underway prior to the pandemic. The crisis has also laid bare many of the social and economic hardships facing marginalized Canadians, raising fundamental questions about the inclusiveness of the recovery.

Responding effectively to a crisis requires timely, credible information. COVID-19 has substantially increased the demand for data and analyses that illuminate the challenges facing Canadians as households, businesses, and governments gravitate toward a new normal. This compendium provides an overview of the initial health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19, based on information collected during the lockdown period of late March and April, and as social and economic restrictions were eased in the late spring and summer months. The compendium will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.