Trudeau Confirms It Will Be 'Weeks' Until Most Canadians Can Go Back To Work

After staying at home for what feels like a lifetime, many Canadians are wondering “When will I go back to work?” On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had an answer to that question. Speaking at his daily press conference, he confirmed that it’s still going to be “weeks” until Canada’s economy starts to reopen.

During his daily COVID-19 briefing on April 14, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answered questions about when Canadians can expect the economy to recommence. 

While he didn’t have an exact date to share with reporters, the PM confirmed that “it is going to be weeks still,” before we see any major changes.

“I know that everyone is very interested to know when things are going to get back to normal," he said. "When they’ll be able to go back to work, when we’ll be able to leave this isolation at home, when kids will be able to go back to school …”

“The reality is, it’s going to be weeks still.”

Speaking from Rideau Cottage, Trudeau explained, “We recognize that it is going to be important to get our economy going, and that we will have to do it in phases.”

He noted that some people will be able to go back to work before others, but confirmed that local and national travel would continue to be restricted for many weeks.

The PM also confirmed that the federal government was having “ongoing discussions” with Canada’s provinces, with regards to reopening individual economies.

He noted that “different regions of the country are at different places along the evolution of their COVID-19 curve.”

“Those discussions are ongoing about how we’re going to open up the economy, it’s just that it’s going to be a while, still,” he concluded.

During his speech, Trudeau also announced new, strengthened measures for anybody entering Canada from another country.

"Now, if asymptomatic travellers cannot explain a credible quarantine plan, they will be required to quarantine in a hotel," he explained on Tuesday.

This new measure comes into effect as of 12:00 a.m. on April 15.

Anybody caught disregarding the Quarantine Act can expect to face fines of up to $500,000, and even jail time.

“We will have to remain vigilant until such a point as a vaccine against COVID-19 is found,” Trudeau concluded at the briefing on Tuesday.

Last week, during an address on April 9, the Prime Minister warned that “normality” was unlikely to return to Canada until a vaccine is made widely available.

At that time, he predicted that this could be up to a year and a half from now.