A Timeline Of Canada's Biggest COVID-19 Milestones A Year Since The Pandemic Was Declared
The COVID-19 timeline in Canada started in January 2020 and now an entire year has passed since the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are 16 of the biggest milestones Canada has gone through related to the virus since the beginning of 2020.
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First Person In Canada Tests Positive For COVID-19
Date: January 25, 2020
Details: The Public Health Ontario Laboratory confirmed that a man had tested positive for COVID-19 on January 25, 2020, after he was admitted to the hospital days earlier.
First COVID-19 Related Death
Date: March 8, 2020
Details: Canada's first COVID-19 related death was confirmed on March 9, 2020. It was a man living in a nursing home in B.C. and he passed away the night before the announcement was made.
WHO Declares A Pandemic
Date: March 11, 2020
Details: After months of assessing the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO announced that it was officially a pandemic. At that point, Canada only had 93 confirmed cases.
Federal Government Warns Against Non-Essential Travel
Date: March 13, 2020
Details: Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government was advising against all non-essential international travel, which was a step up from earlier advice that was related to specific countries.
Trudeau Tells Everyone To Stay Home
Date: March 16, 2020
Details: While speaking from outside of his home where he was self-isolating, Trudeau told Canadians to stay home to protect each other.
Canada-U.S. Border Closes
Date: March 21, 2020
Details: Both Trudeau and then U.S. President Donald Trump announced on March 18, 2020, that the border would close to non-essential travel and then it happened a few days later on March 21, 2020.
Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine Is Introduced For Travellers
Date: March 25, 2020
Details: It was announced that it would be mandatory for travellers coming into Canada to isolate for 14 days once they arrived in the country.
Wearing Masks Is Advised
Date: May 20, 2020
Details: Dr. Theresa Tam announced that it was now recommended for people to wear a mask when outside of their home as a layer of protection.
Canada Reaches 150K COVID-19 Cases
Date: September 25, 2020
Details: Eight months after the first person in Canada tested positive, it was confirmed that COVID-19 cases in Canada had reached and surpassed 150,000.
First Vaccine Is Approved
Date: December 9, 2020
Details: The Pfizer vaccine was the first to be approved by Health Canada and it was authorized for use in people aged 16 or older.
First Vaccine Doses Are Administered
Date: December 13, 2020
Details: Days after the approval, the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered in Canada. Someone in Quebec was the first person in the country to get a dose.
Moderna Vaccine Is Approved
Date: December 23, 2020
Details: Two weeks after the first vaccine was approved, Health Canada also authorized the Moderna vaccine for use.
First Variant Case In Canada Is Detected
Date: December 26, 2020
Details: A couple in Ontario were confirmed to be the first cases of a virus variant detected in Canada. It was also announced that the variant was the one first discovered in the U.K.
New Travel Rules Come Into Effect
Date: February 22, 2021
Details: Canada imposed new travel rules on February 22, 2021, that required all incoming travellers to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and those coming by plane were mandated to quarantine in hotels.
AstraZeneca Vaccine Is Approved
Date: February 26, 2021
Details: The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved by Health Canada and it was the third authorized for use in the country.
Johnson & Johnson Single-Dose Vaccine Is Approved
Date: March 5, 2021
Details: Unlike the other three vaccines, the one from Johnson & Johnson that was authorized by Health Canada requires a single dose instead of two.
Luciano Frattolin is taken away in custody from the Essex County Court in Elizabethtown, New York on Friday, July 24, 2026. Luciano Frattolin charged with 2nd-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K, a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ont., on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey
The Rockyview General Hospital is pictured in Calgary, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
This composite image shows, left to right, B.C. NDP Leader David Eby in Vancouver, on April 13, 2026; B.C. Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson, in Vancouver, on Sept. 22, 2026; B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan in Victoria, on Sept. 23, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck, Rich Lam, Kevin Light
B.C. Premier David Eby, back, and outgoing premier John Horgan embrace during a swearing in ceremony where Eby became the province's 37th premier at the Musqueam Nation, in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Rockyview General Hospital is pictured in Calgary, Thursday, March 20, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh