'Politics at play' more than ever as pandemic drags on in Canada, says reporter

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With COVID-19 case counts surging across the country, the second wave of the pandemic is becoming increasingly politicized, says a political reporter for the Globe and Mail.

"I think that we are seeing more politics at play, and I think that is in part because of the electoral calendars that we're seeing. I mean, we already saw three elections in Canada this fall, four if you include the byelection federally," Marieke Walsh told The Current's Matt Galloway.

"Politics is becoming more a part of it because the pandemic and COVID-19 is becoming, for better or for worse — mostly for worse — part of our daily lives."

Coronavirus case numbers have been on a major upswing in parts of the country this week. Ontario hit a record 1,575 cases Thursday (the third record-setting day in a row) as Quebec marked another 1,365 new cases and 42 deaths. New provincial modelling shows Ontario could see 6,500 new cases per day by mid-December if no further action is taken to flatten the curve.

Meanwhile, the Prairies are also seeing a resurgence in the virus. Alberta is implementing two-week restrictions on bars and fitness facilities to slow the spread, while Manitoba is heading into a lockdown similar to the one this spring. In Quebec, Premier Francois Legault is also considering temporarily closing schools this winter.

But Yudhvir Jaswal, group publisher at Y Media and host of radio program South Asian Pulse, says that even though leaders recognize we are at a "crossroads" in the pandemic, officials seem to have few specifics to offer on how Canada should respond.

"How do we collectively deal with this? That's one one thing which is missing," he told Galloway.

Emergenices Act 'wouldn't fly' with provinces

The federal government has the power to invoke the Emergencies Act, a never-before-used piece of legislation that gives Ottawa the power to do just about anything it thinks is necessary to cope with a national crisis. However, the move would be "politically sensitive and untenable" in many parts of the country, Walsh said.

On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected such an idea, saying the provinces "don't need the nanny state telling us what to do." Ford said invoking the act "wouldn't fly" with the premiers, but that "constant communication" with the prime minister's team is the way to "get things done."

That's "just a taste" of the reaction Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would get were he to try and wrest control from the provinces, said Walsh.

"The challenge for the prime minister is that, as he sees these cases mount … he needs to also ensure that the public is on side with believing that Ottawa has done everything it can," she explained. "And he will have a different political calculation than each of the premiers."

Another factor contributing to the politicization of the health crisis is that people have become "numb" or "desensitized" to it, said Walsh.

That makes it hard for leaders to get their messaging across to Canadians.

"Both politicians and medical officers of health and the chief medical officer have struggled to, I think, really make clear the urgency [of the pandemic] because the language is so similar to what we hear every day," she said.

This is no time for finger pointing or scoring any brownie points.- Yudhvir Jaswal

"It feels like the time to act is always now," she added. "But I think that makes it really difficult for Canadians to see this urgency if the messaging is the same, and at the same time so confusing."

Macleans Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff agreed with Walsh, adding that Canadians no longer have the same appetite for lockdown restrictions as they did in March.

While there are some people who may still be wary of dining out at restaurants or using fitness facilities, for example, Markusoff said there are swaths of people who are "ticked off" by the restrictions on businesses.

"So politicians are facing these mixed messages," he said. "But I do think that as we're seeing hospitals reach breaking points and case counts reach alarming records in Manitoba, Alberta and pretty much every other province not in the Atlantic bubble, that there could be a … turning tide."

Jaswal thinks that if leaders could work together, they might avoid some of their disagreements on how to respond to the pandemic.

One solution, he suggested, could be to create a team of national leaders that includes the prime minister and other officials from across the country, to tackle the health crisis as a unit.

"This is no time for finger pointing or scoring any brownie points," he said.

Written by Kirsten Fenn, with files from CBC News. Produced by Julie Crysler.