Canada's COVID-19 death toll has surpassed 15,000

Over 15,000 Canadians have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March.

The grim milestone was reached on December 28 as Quebec reported 37 new deaths, bringing the country’s cumulative total to 15,001.

As of 7:00pm on December 27 – when Canada’s federal COVID-19 tracker was last updated – Quebec has seen the highest death toll of any province or territory in the country.

Accounting for the 37 deaths reported today, 8,060 people have died of COVID-19 in the province.

Ontario has seen the second-highest loss of life due to the pandemic, followed by Alberta. Based on data released on December 27, the provinces have seen 4,377 and 890 deaths, respectively, since March.

British Columbia has seen 808 deaths based on the most up to date numbers, followed by Manitoba with 645.

As of December 27, Saskatchewan has reported 141 deaths. Nova Scotia has seen 65 deaths, and New Brunswick has confirmed eight.

Four people have died of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, two people have died in Nunavut, and one person has died in the Yukon to date.

Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories have not seen any coronavirus-related fatalities.

Yesterday, a fourth case of the COVID-19 UK variant was detected in Canada. Three cases of the virus mutation have been found in Ontario, and one case has been discovered in British Columbia.

Data suggests that the variant, which was first discovered in the UK, can be transmitted faster than the initial strain of the virus. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the mutation causes more severe illness or that vaccines will be any less effective against it.

Canada has banned all flights from the UK until at least January 6, 2021.

To date, there have been 552,020 COVID-19 cases in Canada.