IMPACTS OF ‘COVID-19’ ON AFFECTED SECTORS OF THE CANADIAN ECONOMY

Almost, all the sectors of the Canadian economy have been affected due to the pandemic. However, some of the sectors are discussed below;

Food services & Accommodation

A major setback in the food services and accommodation sectors resulted in shutdowns of many restaurants and accommodation services. A restaurant Canada survey of the food industry revealed that many restaurants were considering a permanent closure of their services in the wake of COVID-19. The Hotel Association of Canada revealed the stats that the hotel occupancy was less than 10% across the country.

The tourism industry association also revealed some worrying stats that the industry can lose up to $6 billion per month due to the pandemic and nearly 778,000 jobs in total. The domestic tourism activity is still persistent as domestic flights are running with precautions. The spending in the industry accounts for 80% of the economic activity and this can increase as well if Canadians prefer staying in Canada for their summer holidays. It would take at least 1-2 years to bring stability to the sector due to the impacts of Covid-19. Obviously, the tourism industry has been a major source of revenue for Canada.         

Transportation

The transportation industry i.e. Airlines, trains, buses, and coaches all accounts for a huge revenue generation and part of the daily economic life cycle for Canadians. People working close to Toronto, and living in suburbs prefer traveling from trains. Hence, the provincial govt. also banned public transportation due to valid reasons for lockdown. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the taxi companies saw their passengers count going down by 75%. Currently, it must be close to 90-95% as all modes of transport are on closure.

The scenarios related to road transports i.e. truckers delivering from Canada to the USA and vice versa has been on a little rise. This has been primarily due to the use of online orders as they are delivered via road transport. However, strict rules are still applicable for truckers and all delivery vehicles.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

Canada has been a center of arts, entertainment, and recreation for almost 50 years, primarily due to vital contributions in the Hollywood industry as well. The Toronto International film festival is one of the most visited and famous film festivals in the world and is for international audiences from all around the world.

Courtesy: MBE Blog