Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is in a second wave of COVID-19 and warned the country is on the brink of a fall season that could be much worse than the spring.
Trudeau's government says it will do ``whatever it takes'' to support the Canadians during the pandemic.
The PM says Canadians can save Christmas, provided they obey public health instructions like wearing masks, physically distancing and reducing our contact with other people.
In an address on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trudeau says a second wave is underway in four provinces.
He says our actions now will determine the course of the virus through the fall.
Trudeau says the last few weeks have seen national daily case counts triple, and the fall could be much worse than the spring.
Trudeau made a rare national address tonight following the Liberal's Throne Speech earlier this afternoon which outlined the government's priorities for a new session of Parliament.
The government says the economic impact of COVID-19 on Canadians has already been worse than the 2008 financial crisis.
If the three main opposition parties vote against the speech an election would be triggered.
St. Catharines Liberal MP Chris Bittle doesn't expect that to happen, saying the last thing Canadians want to do in a pandemic is go to the polls.
Listen to Bittle and Conservative Niagara West MP Dean Allison's full interviews with CKTB's Tom McConnell here.
(with files from the Canadian Press)