A Look At COVID-19 Class Actions In Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the class actions landscape in 2020, with over 30 COVID-19 related class actions launched in Canada since the pandemic took hold in March. While that number pales in comparison to the hundreds of COVID-related claims launched in the United States, it remains imperative for Canadian businesses and foreign businesses operating in Canada to be aware of potential areas of risk that may arise because of the global pandemic.

The main types of claims that have been started in Canada so far generally fall into one of four categories:

• Long-Term Care Home Negligence: Negligence claims have been launched against the owners and operators of long-term care homes which were the epicenters of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The claims—brought by residents or their estates—broadly allege that the facilities failed to adequately address the threat of the virus in the pandemic's early days. Plaintiffs allege that insufficient