Justin Trudeau warns against easing restrictions amid surge of new COVID-19 cases

OTTAWA—As COVID-19 cases continue to surge from Alberta to Quebec, premiers are facing questions from municipal leaders and pressure from the federal Liberals to take stronger action to control the pandemic’s spread.

While Canada’s big city mayors are not calling for a more interventionist approach from Ottawa to manage the public health crisis, they have shared “concerns” about the virus’ second wave and a “desire for action,” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson told reporters Tuesday.

“I think the mayors would encourage the provinces to follow the evidence and enact measures to protect business for the long-term, and human beings and life in the short term,” Iveson, the chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipality’s big city mayor caucus, said.

Iveson’s comments came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged premiers and mayors in COVID-19 hot spots to “do the right thing” and take stronger measures to control the pandemic.

At a press conference in Ottawa, Trudeau warned that relaxing restrictions around things like indoor dining and social gatherings could hit businesses even harder than temporary shutdowns.

“I would hope that no leader in our country is easing public health vigilance because they feel pressure not to shutdown businesses or slow down our economy,” Trudeau said.

“I understand that worry, but let me tell you (that) that’s how we end up with businesses going out of business and the economy damaged even more.”

That could be interpreted as a veiled shot at Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose government is easing restrictions on things like indoor dining and gyms despite hitting a record high 1,388 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The City of Toronto pushed back that reopening plan Wednesday afternoon, announcing continued restrictions on indoor dining, closing casinos and event spaces, and prohibiting group fitness classes.

“I don’t know if he’s speaking to me directly. And if he is, I want to thank him for his ongoing support,” Ford told reporters when asked about Trudeau’s comments.

“But, you know, we need more support for businesses. That’s what we need. We need more support, financial support. And I’d be more than happy to sit down and talk to the prime minister about that support.”

But Ontario is hardly alone, with Manitoba and Alberta also seeing high case numbers. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has resisted imposing stricter rules in his province, instead relying on citizens to act responsibly. Alberta reported 644 new cases Monday.

The province’s chief medical officer of health, Deena Hinshaw, said Monday the Alberta government was considering a short, sharp “circuit breaker” lockdown to put the province on better footing.

Manitoba, dealing with one of the country’s worst outbreaks, made that exact move on Tuesday, imposing some of the most severe restrictions the country has seen – no social gatherings whatsoever, travel restrictions inside the province, shuttering non-essential businesses, and banning religious and cultural gatherings.

Iveson, who said he’s been in contact with Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman on the “tragic and concerning” situation in that city, said Edmonton is taking what steps it can to protect public safety – above and beyond the restrictions imposed by the Alberta government.

But the Edmonton mayor said he still believed the overall pandemic response should be managed at the provincial level.

“Leaving it either up to the club of the federal government, or the as-always one-hand-tied-behind-our-backs jurisdictionally-limited local governments, that’s not going to get the best results,” Iveson said.

“And mayors might have opinions on this, like every other Canadian. But I think where we’ve been consistent is we’re strongest (when) the decisions are being made by the professionals, provided they’re being deferred to.”

Since the global health emergency began, Trudeau and his government have consistently pushed back on questions about assuming extraordinary powers to manage the pandemic under the Emergencies Act – a modernized version of the War Measures Act last invoked by Pierre Trudeau during the October Crisis.

Instead, the federal government has stuck to a strategy of providing billions in additional funds for provincial health efforts, holding regular meetings with provincial and territorial leaders, and attempts at moral suasion – in addition to unprecedented direct spending to shore up individuals and businesses through the crisis.

After urging unnamed provinces to greater action Tuesday, the prime minister was again asked about that possibility.

“The federal government doesn’t have the responsibility to tell each region what they should do and how they should manage COVID-19 outbreaks,” Trudeau responded.

“But we are there to say that we are going to make this task easier, we’re going to make difficult decisions easier, by saying if you need to shutdown quickly … we’ll be there to directly support citizens and directly support businesses that have to shut down or limit their business hours.”

Alex Boutilier is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: