OTTAWA—Never mind a new normal. This is anything but.

A sense of crisis enveloped North American political leaders, stock markets and ordinary families as the coronavirus pandemic’s spread upended claims we were ready.

Schools across Ontario are set to be shuttered for three weeks; federal party leaders went into isolation; provinces warned against international travel and banned large gatherings of people.

Multibillion-dollar sports leagues are going on hiatus, and the Toronto Stock Exchange plummeted to historic depths for the second time in just four days.

The virus has now even forced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau into quarantine at home. Late Thursday, the PMO announced Trudeau’s wife had tested positive for COVID-19, contracted on a recent trip to the United Kingdom.

It all happened at a dizzying clip Thursday, as the virus continued to spread and force politicians, health officials and businesses to try and slow it down. The day’s developments included:

The cancellation of the first ministers summit just hours before it was set to begin in Ottawa Thursday night.

Ontario’s decision to close all public schools for two weeks following March break as the province saw its biggest single-day surge of new infections so far.

The suspension of the NHL’s ongoing season and Major League Baseball’s spring training, as well as the cancellation of the marquee NCAA March Madness tournament.

Bans on public gatherings of more than 250 people in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, while top health officials in B.C. and Alberta advised all provincial residents not to leave Canada, even to go the United States, amidst the crisis.

The first cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The TSX composite index plunging by more than 10 per cent for the second time this week, marking its worst single-day drop in 80 years.

The announcement that jury trials in Ontario are being suspended “for the time being.” Those in progress will continue subject to the trial judge’s discretion, said the legal counsel to Ontario Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz.

In Ottawa, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland signalled that the federal government “stands ready” to increase its relief efforts, just one day after Trudeau unveiled a $1-billion COVID-19 response fund designed primarily to boost provincial health-care systems and support vaccine and antiviral drug research. Earlier in the day, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney — whose province’s oil industry has been hammered by the collapse of prices and stock prices — called for billions more in joint federal and provincial spending to spur the economy.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said now is the time for Ottawa to meet the premiers’ long-standing demand for a 5.2 per cent hike in provincial health transfers “to ensure we have a steady long-term health plan.”

After the markets closed, Finance Minister Bill Morneau emerged to tell reporters Canadians should be confident the federal government has the fiscal capacity to respond, to shore up the economy and the health system.

After U.S. President Donald Trump announced his country would ban foreign citizens from travelling to the U.S. from Europe, several Canadian ministers defended current screening measures at entry points. Freeland noted the situation is changing by the hour.

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As the government grappled with the developing crisis, the prime minister worked the phone from his residence on the grounds of Rideau Hall, speaking with Trump and the prime ministers of Italy and the U.K.

His wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, was tested for COVID-19 after she returned from a trip to the U.K. and began feeling “flu-like symptoms,” on Wednesday night, Trudeau’s office said Thursday. She later tested positive, but her symptoms had subsided since that time, the PMO said.

Trudeau, who has no symptoms, will stay in isolation for 14 days. He will address Canadians about the outbreak Friday morning and his office says he plans to continue to carry out duties from isolation.

Trudeau spokesperson Cameron Ahmad said the prime minister had earlier decided out of “an abundance of caution” to cancel his appearances, including cancelling the face-to-face meeting with first ministers and Indigenous leaders.

He spent the day on the phone with cabinet ministers, world leaders and premiers about the crisis while in quarantine at home, his office said.

Trudeau isn’t the only politician sidelined amidst the pandemic. At least six federal MPs — including two party leaders — were in self-isolation as of Thursday night.

That included Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Reagan and NDP MP Richard Cannings, who both were tested for COVID-19 and are in self-isolation after attending an international mining conference in Toronto where a man from Sudbury contracted the virus. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was staying home Thursday on doctor’s orders, but that his symptoms aren’t consistent with COVID-19.

Bloc Québécois MP Mario Simard was also in self-isolation with cold symptoms and is awaiting results of his own COVID-19 test, the party confirmed to the Star, while Liberal MP Anthony Housefather was staying at home after attending a conference in the U.S. “out of an abundance of caution.”

Two leading contenders in the Conservative leadership race, Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole, also suspended public activities for an indefinite time.

Off Parliament Hill, the virus continued to infect Canadians across the country.

Ontario reported a surge in new cases Thursday that included a baby boy in Toronto and brought the provincial infection tally to 59. Seven of 10 provinces are now reporting cases of COVID-19, with more than 140 people in Canada who have tested positive so far in what Health Minister Patty Hajdu called a “national public health emergency” that could infect millions of Canadians, anywhere from 30 to 70 per cent of the population, before it is over.

Officials in various parts of the country reacted with a range of measures to curb the spread of the virus.

As Alberta, B.C., and Quebec banned gatherings of more than 250 people, Ontario urged the cancellation of events with more than 1,000 attendees. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the city will close all libraries, arenas and swimming pools; Catholic bishops in Quebec cancelled masses; and Ottawa’s Carleton University was preparing to cancel classes and pivot to online sessions for the rest of the semester.

Hajdu stopped short of a Canada-wide advisory against international travel, but said Canadians planning a getaway during spring break should consider a “staycation.”

With files from The Canadian Press, Susan Delacourt and Jim Rankin

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