All Demand, No Supply: PPE in Canada 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) became the centre of COVID-19 discussions in early March 2020. As COVID-19 spread, Canadians needed protection and existing supplies diminished faster than they could be replenished.

Rationing

While COVID-19 spread rapidly, hospitals needed to outfit all staff in PPE, including masks, face shields, isolation gowns, and sanitization products. This was far more PPE than was usually required outside of surgery and the need for PPE quickly outpaced the supplies on hand. Some hospitals were forced to ration PPE. 

Man in PPE standing outside next to a white car, holding a large cardboard box.

A biology student from Université du Québec à Montréal helps to donate PPE to Douglas Hospital.

Used PPE equipment, such as gowns and masks.

Used PPE at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Rationing and reuse of PPE caused a lot of anxiety among healthcare workers. Though guidelines advocated the highest safety standards possible, it was difficult to maintain them under rationing. Adding to the stress and confusion were the different provincial safety standards seen below. 

This is a picture of a chart which lists how to use several kinds of personal protective equipment. One panel each is dedicated to hand hygiene, using a protective gown, surgical mask, N95 respirator, eye protection/face shields, and gloves.

One set of intricate guidelines for putting on PPE. 

Creation

To deal with sudden shortages, companies and people from all over Canada began to manufacture PPE and hand sanitizer using their existing equipment. This rapid response helped fill the gap between the supply of PPE and the demand.

This is a picture of a small bottle of hand sanitizer resting on top of a beer keg.

After being approached by the RCMP for help, Yukon Brewing delivered twenty litres of hand sanitizer to local cities. 

This is a picture taken of a person holding a bottle of hand sanitizer which is labeled: "Dillon's Distillers, Alcohol Antiseptic 80%."

Dillons Distillery created and distributed over 50,000 bottles of hand sanitizer free of charge to frontline workers in central Ontario.

This is a picture taken at a distillery in Quebec, Canada. In the picture, many bottles of antiseptic hand sanitizer are sitting on top of a table.

Working with Santé Montreal, Cirka Distilleries produced hand sanitizer for frontine workers. 

Many Canadian distilleries started to make hand sanitizer using the alcohol and bottles they already had on hand. Although the hand sanitizer often came in wine bottles and smelled awful, it protected Canadians.

The Canadian Shield manufacturing line creates face shields in its Waterloo, Ontario, factory.

Inksmith, an Ontario company that previously made education tools, quickly changed gears to manufacture face shields. The company relaunched as The Canadian Shield in response to the global shortages and began creating PPE for Canadian hospitals.

Few of the public knew the term PPE before March 2020. It entered the common vocabulary as safety precautions dominated Canadian lives. 

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