Lori Wilkinson, University of Manitoba

Government regulations introduced to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 have greatly influenced the mental-, economic- and social health of our societies. A myriad of social, economic and unrelated health issues have already been observed. The most recent evidence has shown that there are social, economic, and demographic differences in COVID-19 disease-, hospitalization-, and death-rates (Rodriguez-Lonebear et al., 2020; NYC Health 2020). With job losses of over 1.3 million since the end of April (Statistics Canada, 2020) and with our own work to date reporting that over 40% of Canadian households have reported a loss of income (ACS, 2020), there are deep and long lasting economic consequences to the pandemic that must be explored. The Association for Canadian Studies, along with academic partners across North America, have been co-sponsoring national surveys of Canadians and Americans weekly since March 9. Our research is centred around one key question: How have COVID-19 related government regulations differentially influenced the social, economic and mental health of racialized persons and immigrants in Canada, US and Mexico? Using surveys and unstructured interviews, our goal is to understand how social, economic and health conditions have changed as a result of the pandemic and protective measures.

Funding Agency: CIHR

Research Status: Currently in research phase

Contact: Lori Wilkinson