It’s been one year since Canada’s first case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Since then life has been irreparably changed for most Torontonians as words like lockdown, PPE and physical distancing entered the daily lexicon.

There has also been immense loss with Ontario alone recording a staggering 5,846 deaths in COVID patients over the last year.

Nearly 13,000 Ontarians have also been hospitalized with the virus and there are increasingly concerns about the healthcare system’s ability to withstand the strain.

CP24 spoke with GTA leaders about a year dominated by COVID-19. Here is what they had to say:

Mayor John Tory

“It has been an extraordinary and an extraordinary difficult year for people, for businesses and for individuals. There are so many people now who really are on the verge of suffering from what you would call a mental illness. It is not just a matter of being a little bit frustrated or a little bit discouraged. I think it has been very, very tough for people because it has gone on so long.”

"There are lots of lessons that we are going to learn from it in terms of preparation. I don’t think anybody even knew the expression PPE a year ago but we sure do know. So there is lots of things we are going to have to do because you have to assume that with the mobility. I just think we are going to have to take a good hard look when this is over at things we have to do to be ready for something that I don’t think we had ever really contemplated when you take into account the last one of these kinds of pandemic was in 1918.”

Dr. Michael Warner, the medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital

“I think it is remarkable how resilient human beings are and how people have been able to adapt to a situation that no one could have imagined over a year ago, especially our children, our teachers, essential workers and all those businesses who have had to pivot significantly jut to try to survive as COVID-19 has really affected all aspects of society. The second thing is the speed of science, which we are watching in real time. The fact that we have a vaccine and multiple vaccines right now that can help us get through this is truly incredible.”

Dr. Anne Collins, president of the Canada Medical Association

“It is certainly an anniversary that none of us would have ever wanted to mark but it reminds us that we have a very resilient foe against us in COVID-19 and it takes a massive and concerted team effort to fight back against this virus and the tragedy that it has created. As of today we will have had over 19,000 people killed by this virus. None of us would have imagined that a year ago.”

“I think that the people living in Canada have done for the most part a good job. They have complied as best as they can with public health directives and guidelines. But I think what is really important is not so much what happened but to look forward and it is so very critical at this moment in time that we establish a very clear vaccine rollout and have a safe, stable and reliable supply. That is where we have to look right now.”

Dr. Samantha Hill, president of the Ontario Medical Association

“There is just a profound sense of weariness amongst the medical community (after a year). People have come together to protect and support each other and I try really hard to focus on that element. But that doesn’t in any way pre-empt the challenges we have faced with being on the frontlines of first an unknown disease and then as we learned more a disease that simply we didn’t have the tools to battle. And watching our patients struggle, watching our community struggle and watching our province struggle has been hard.”