On 12 March 2020 Manitoba confirmed its first case of COVID-19. One week later, a province-wide state of emergency was declared, ushering in a new sense of urgency and rarely used government powers to protect Manitobans from the devastating global reach of the novel coronavirus.

The wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic have touched every facet of Manitoba society and provincial responsibility, including health, economic development, social services, and government operations. COVID-19 has challenged the conventional policy-making process––complicating agenda setting and policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation––while governments have been under pressure to make swift decisions in life-and-death matters. New programs must address urgent and shifting health and economic realities, but also anticipate future waves of COVID-19 and potentially significant repercussions for future governments.

COVID-19 in Manitoba: Public Policy Responses to the First Wave seeks to understand how Manitoba fared during the first months of the pandemic, with twenty-seven chapters that address key aspects of the pandemic and discuss how government policy can help lay the foundation for resiliency in the midst a continuing public-health crisis. This open-access volume is an essential resource for citizens and policy-makers alike, as it identifies policy gaps and successes of Manitoba’s early COVID response and points to strategies to prepare for future waves of the pandemic.

Andrea Rounce is an Associate Professor in Political Studies at the University of Manitoba and Academic Director of the Manitoba Institute for Policy Research (MIPR). Her recent work includes projects on public opinion about post-secondary education, government's use of public opinion and consultation, public servants’ political activities, gender, elections, and public sector governance.

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Karine Levasseur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies, University of Manitoba. She specializes in government – voluntary sector relationships and is the author of “In the Name of Charity: Institutional support and resistance for redefining the meaning of charity in Canada”, which won the J.E. Hodgetts Award for best article (English) published in Canadian Public Administration in 2012.

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