The COVID-19 virus was responsible for the deaths of over thirty-five thousand Canadians in its first two years alone. Described as the biggest public health crisis of the century, it was an uncertain threat, which emerged within complex psychological, social, legal, administrative, and economic contexts.

Seized by Uncertainty explains how Canadian governments responded to that threat. Despite early warning signs, governments failed to appreciate the trade-offs required to respond to the pandemic. Their approach, at times intolerant of debate and ignorant of diversity, served the interests of some over others. Their response prioritized stability and containment, enabling four in ten people to work from home, disproportionately benefiting an educated middle class who profited further from soaring stock markets and housing prices. Mental health issues spiked, racialized people were much more likely to test positive for the virus, those in low-income sectors experienced unstable employment and lacked workplace safety protections, the lives of low-risk youth were in constant suspension, and residents of some care homes were virtually abandoned.

Seized by Uncertainty studies the pandemic response through the contexts in which it emerged, exposing uncomfortable truths about a fragmented society and governance problems that predated the threat.

Kevin Quigley is director of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance and a professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at Dalhousie University.

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Kaitlynne Lowe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.

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Sarah Moore is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.

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Brianna Wolfe is research assistant at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance at Dalhousie University.

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“The COVID pandemic was an epochal event – global, transnational, domestic, and cross‐sectoral – that will be debated and discussed for decades. Seized by Uncertainty charts exactly what happened when, analyzing what governmental responses worked and what did not.” Michael Howlett, Simon Fraser University