COVID-19 Update for March 3 – 12:30PM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new federal funding for science and research, and the extension of wage and rent subsidies.

New Investments to support research and science
The Prime Minister announced $518 million, through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, for research across the country.  The funding, to flow through 35 universities, colleges, and research institutions, will support over 100 projects covering a range of topics from vaccine research to fighting climate change.

Trudeau made a point of mentioning how this investment will support research into the field of digital health, citing Women’s College Hospital in Toronto as an example, developing a cutting edge virtual care lab.

You can read the full announcement here.

Extension of federal support programs
The PM also announced that the federal government is extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support programs at their current funding levels until June. He said these supports are necessary to get Canadians through the “final stretch of the crisis.”

Vaccine Update
Providing an update on Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Trudeau noted that this week Canada hit a milestone of 2 million vaccines administered across the country. Additionally, Canada received its first shipment of half a million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. He also reiterated his promise that every Canadian who wants a vaccine will get it by September.