Table 1.
Selection of policies on access to the outdoors and COVID-19 cases, by province
| Province | Policies facilitating access to outdoor spaces | Policies restricting access to outdoor spaces | Number of COVID-19 cases*(Statistics Canada, 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada-wide | National parks closed until June 1st (Parks Canada, 2020) |
122,087 322/100,000 people |
|
| British Columbia |
Vancouver: Stanley Park became car-free on April 8th to encourage physical activity (City of Vancouver, 2020) The majority of regional parks in Metro Vancouver remained open (Metro Vancouver, 2020) |
Provincial parks closed until May 14th (BC Centre for Disease Control, 2020) |
4358 85/100,000 people |
| Victoria: Active transportation routes expanded as of May 14th (Bains, 2020) | |||
| Alberta |
Provincial parks remained open to those accessing parks by foot, bicycle, or horse (Alberta Parks, 2020) Alberta Recreation and Parks Association announced on March 25th that they would work with the Alberta government to ensure continued safe access to the outdoors (Cowie and Allan, 2020) |
12,053 273/100,000 people |
|
|
Calgary: Select traffic lanes blocked off on March 28th to support active transportation (CBC News, 2020b) Municipal parks remained open with physical distancing guidelines in effect (Calgary, 2020) |
|||
|
Edmonton: Bike lanes on select streets converted to shared space on April 9th to support active transportation (CBC News, 2020b) Municipal parks remained open with physical distancing guidelines in effect (Edmonton, 2020) |
|||
| Saskatchewan | Regina: Wascana Lake loop turned into one-way path to promote active transportation while adhering to physical distancing guidelines (Global News, 2020a) | Provincial parks closed until May 4th (Tourism Saskatchewan, 2020) |
1580 134/100,000 people |
| Saskatoon: All parks and trails remained open (Giles, 2020) | |||
| Manitoba |
Winnipeg: Select streets closed to car traffic on April 6th to support outdoor enjoyment (CBC News, 2020c) Municipal parks remained open with physical distancing guidelines in effect (Winnipeg, 2020) |
Provincial parks closed until May 4th (Manitoba Parks, 2020) |
697 51/100,000 people |
| Ontario | Rideau Valley: Trails remained open at select locations with physical distancing guidelines in effect (Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, 2020) | Provincial parks closed until May 11th (Ontario Parks, 2020) |
40,646 276/100,000 people |
| Ottawa: Car access on select streets restricted to local traffic only on April 9th to support active transportation (Ottawa Citizen, 2020b) | National Capital Commission: Trails and parks open for walk-through only until May 6th with heavy ticketing for those lingering in parks (Ottawa Citizen, 2020a) | ||
|
Toronto: Select streets closed to car traffic on May 14th to support physical activity (CTV News, 2020b) Municipal parks remained accessible with physical distancing guidelines in effect (Toronto, 2020) |
Toronto: A proposal to make Yonge Street car-free was struck down (Toronto.com, 2020) | ||
| Oakville: Outdoor recreation areas and parks closed until May 16th with heavy ticketing for those in violation (Oakville, 2020) (Global News, 2020b) | |||
| Quebec |
Montreal: Select streets restricted to local traffic only on April 9th to support active transportation. Municipal parks remained open (Montreal, 2020) |
Quebec national parks closed until May 20th (Government of Quebec, 2020) |
61,151 716/100,000 people |
| New Brunswick | Moncton: All parks and trails remained open with one-way routes on park paths instituted to facilitate physical distancing (Walker, 2020) | Provincial parks closed until April 24th (New Brunswick, 2020) |
186 24/100,000 people |
| Nova Scotia | Provincial parks closed until May 1st (Nova Scotia Provincial Parks, 2020) |
1074 110/100,000 people |
|
| Halifax: Motion to increase active transportation routes passed on April 29th (Brand, 2020) | Halifax: All municipal parks closed until May 1st (Groff, 2020) | ||
| Prince Edward Island | Provincial park trails remained open without services; services returning June 5th (Prince Edward Island, 2020) |
41 26/100,000 people |
|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | St John’s: Decision to widen select streets made on May 5th to promote active transportation (Mercer, 2020) | Provincial Parks closed until further notice (Newfoundland and Labrador, 2020a, b) Municipal parks closed until May 11th (Newfoundland and Labrador, 2020a, b) |
268 51/100,000 people |
*As of August 17, 2020