The economics unit at CIBC Capital Markets has taken an interesting angle in a piece on COVID – they have tied the economic implications to the linkage between hospital capacity and government response times.

They argue Canada’s lower hospital capacity compared to other industrial countries means available beds fill up faster here than anywhere else. And, when full, governments respond with lockdowns that impair economic activity.

They singled out Saskatchewan and Alberta which had among the least stringent lockdown rules and now our hospitals have filled up faster than other provinces.

But this also has a bearing on the death rate from COVID.

The Americans, for example, have more medical capacity so officials felt less pressure to embrace the tougher lockdown measures we saw in Canada and, as a result, more Americans got sicker and died on a per capita basis.

Ironically, lower hospital capacity means fewer COVID deaths because governments have to move quicker but it also impedes economic growth. Investment in new hospital spaces has lagged in Canada and that may end up putting a cap on our growth capability.