PM to deliver national address on COVID-19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to deliver a national address to Canadians Wednesday night after the throne speech.

The Prime Minister's Office says Trudeau will speak to Canadians directly on the "urgency of fighting COVID-19" as the country faces a second wave of the pandemic.

Trudeau will also speak about how the Liberal government plans to fight COVID-19 and build the economic recovery from the pandemic-related shutdown.

Those plans will also be outlined in the throne speech.

The federal Liberals are expected to lay out plans for child care, affordable housing and navigating the economic fallout of the pandemic as part of throne speech cast in the shadow of rising COVID-19 cases.

Canada's chief public health office warned today there will be a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Canada unless people limit contact with others in coming days.

Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says he's hoping the government focuses its throne speech on navigating the pandemic.

Non-essential businesses were forced to close during lockdowns earlier this year to slow the spread of COVID-19, but have reopened since as restrictions have eased.

Kelly says it could be years before thousands of small businesses in the country have revenues equal to what they made before the pandemic.

His group is hoping to see a rejigging of commercial rent assistance that has fallen short of expectations, among other aid to businesses.