Each level of government has extraordinary powers that it may invoke in the case of an emergency. Often designed to deal with war and insurrection, these emergency powers have evolved to be responsive to a wide range of crises, including pandemics like COVID-19.
In March 2020, Dan Sheppard prepared a memo outlining some of the emergency powers that the provincial and federal governments have to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has regularly updated the memo as emergency orders have been issued or amended.