An uncertain year looms ahead in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Already there are nearly two million dead worldwide; 80 million sickened with families torn apart by death, disease and border closures and economies have been devastated. Father deacon Andrew Bennett, the director of the Cardus Religious Freedom Institute spoke into the situation noting that faith communities are going to need to address many challenges in Canada's post-pandemic religious landscape.

A recent poll by The Angus Reid Institute and Cardus found that 20 per cent of Manitobans plan to meet with friends and family to celebrate the holidays. Anxiety about contracting COVID-19 or passing it on to friends and family was also recorded: three in four Manitobans polled say they believe the worst of the pandemic's effects are yet to come.Cardus executive vice-president Ray Pennings said, "The poll speaks to a "dissonance" between the data and how people are approaching the holidays...I think people are saying there's more to life than just health - family, faith, all these other dimensions of life which are sort of captured in Christmas - matter to us."

B.C. announces new restrictions in place for Christmas and New Years. CTV News Vancouver Island mentions the recent poll by Angus Reid Institute and Cardus to conclude that many are planning to use technology for religious and family connections. Cardus executive vice president, Ray Pennings notes that there is anxiousness surrounding this Christmas season, but still there is hope in the midst of it all.(Skip to 1:30 segment for the Angus Reid Institute & Cardus poll insight)

A new poll by the independent Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Cardus an independent think tank, conducted the online survey of 5,003 Canadians about their attitudes and intentions during this holiday period. It showed that most were reducing social contacts. In 2019 just over half of respondents said they visited friends or family in other communities or provinces (51%). This year 10 per cent said they would do so this year.

A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with Cardus, suggests that while the majority of Canadians plan to have a more solitary holiday season and stay within their households this year, about a third still plan to visit others locally and 10 per cent plan to travel outside their communities or province, regardless of health restrictions.

While most say their Christmas and holiday plans will be more solitary this year, a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute and Cardus reveals that 18 per cent of Manitobans still plan to visit friends and family this Christmas season despite public health warnings. Global News also quoted Cardus, saying, "across Canada while most are choosing a more solitary rather than merry Christmas, a significant segment still plan to visit people outside their household, either locally or out of province”.

CTV News Winnipeg reports that most people will keep Christmas celebrations small, though some are reluctant to break with tradition this year. Quoting the findings from the most recent Angus Reid and Cardus poll the news channel reports that though the pandemic has brought about anxiety, there is still hope.

While the coronavirus pandemic has put a spotlight on obvious failures in long-term care in Ontario and across Canada, experts say change will require a re-imagining of the entire system in addition to ambitious reforms. Cardus's Johanna Lewis spoke with Global news, "It’s tragic that it took a pandemic for people to really start to pay attention to the problems that are happening in long-term care, but I do see a very good opportunity for change; for not just tweaks to the system, but for real, deep reform, bold reform."