Canada Ranks Low on Successful COVID Response

By: Laura Steiner

A new study gives from the Fraser Institute gives low marks to Canada on its response to COVID-19.

The study Global Storm: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Response around the World, looks at how 200 countries responded to the pandemic over the last year.

“While no two countries tackled COVID-19 the same way, there are important lessons that Canada should learn going forward,” Livio Di Matteo said.  Di Matteo is an Economics professor at Lakehead University, Fraser Institute Fellow, and the author of the study.  It found that early, strictly enforced lockdows initially worked to slow the spread, but l

The study looked at hospital beds per capita, and COVID-19 tests per million population.  Canada ranked 26 out of 35 International Monetary Fund (IMF)  advanced economies in terms of tests per million.

Canada ranked 32 out of 35 advanced economies on hospital beds per 1,000 with 2.5/ 1000 people.  The results ranged from Japan with 13.1 beds/ 1,000 people and  South Korea 12.2 beds/ 1,000 people.  Sweden ranked lower than Canada with 2.2 beds/1,000 people.

The study also compared Canada to four other countries that had over 100 cases of response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  Their COVID-19 death rates ranged from .3 to 22/ 1 million.   Canada ranked last with 500 per million.  “Unlike other countries that suffered from SARS and learned lessons, then introduced mechanisms to respond to such viruses, Canada appears to have learned very little,”  Di Matteo said.  Read more about the study here