In March, Canada saw the jobs of over 3 million people affected by COVID-19. With 1 million outright job losses, and another 2 million people without work or whose hours were cut makes the economic damages from the pandemic already worse than recessions in the 2000’s, 90’s and 80’s.

That according to a report from Phillip Cross with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Cross says Canada recovered well from the 2008-2009 recession because the banking system wasn’t damaged as badly as the USA, and the Oil sector was able to recover to 100 dollars a barrel. He explains, that won’t be the case this time as the oil and gas sector will struggle with low prices and high debt. Cross believes there will be a lot of consolidation in the industry with smaller firms not making it through the pandemic, and that it is very unlikely Canada will reach oil prices that helped fuel recovery before.

Cross says, on a positive note, there are opportunities in the long-term as people fundamentally re-think the way they do business. Noting that during challenging times in the 70’s two companies were created out of the need for innovation, Microsoft and Apple.