Baking

Cooped up inside with the cold weather, Canadians experimented in the kitchen and found solace and pleasure in baking.  In a few short weeks people had bought all the available flour and yeast as many suddenly jumped on the baking bandwagon.

One baker emphasized the need to stay home in lockdown with this blunt caption.

One husband asked his wife if COVID-19 baking was still popular after she baked this loaf.

Some Canadians threw away less food than before the pandemic.

Forbes magazine explained how food buying and cooking habits shifted after the outbreak of the pandemic. 61% of Canadians bought more food per grocery trip and that 40% of those surveyed bought more than before the pandemic. With this increased buying, some Canadians wasted more food while others adopted food saving habits.

Crafts

Canadians picked up or returned to hobbies at the start of lockdown. These photos are all from April and May 2020, when families were stuck inside and needed distractions as a form of escapism.

Canadians expressed a renewed interest in crafts such as knitting, painting, and drawing.

Those in the Maritimes questioned how long the interest in puzzles and crafts would last.

Julie's Paint Party brought together Canadians of varying painting expertise to create a new online community.

Canadians not only wanted a form of escapism during these lonely months, but also desired to remain productive. They used Zoom and social media platforms to learn new artistic skills and to create new communities.

Gardening

As the temperature rose, so did the number of people spending time outside. Canadians grew increasingly interested in gardening as many were wary of visiting stores and touching food shipped from the United States and beyond.

This Maclean's article talks about the usefulness of growing one's own food, especially with job shortages and enforced social distancing.

This farmer's market in Ontario put social distancing practices in place, such as allowing only 15 visitors in to shop at a time.

One Canadian states her excitement at being able to grow food to eat and becoming more self-reliant.

Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia conducted a survey on the new interest in gardening.  It found that the hobby had become one of the most popular activities with almost one in five Canadians starting gardening in 2020. 

City dwellers had to be more creative as they lacked the space for an outdoor garden or even a place to exercise while social distancing.  

Over half of Canadians embraced pandemic gardening in new study.

One city dweller in Alberta shared his new interest in growing indoor plants.

Exercise

When gyms closed, Canadians had to find more unconventional ways to exercise. Many returned to running, walking, and cycling to pass the time. Non-campers went camping and many out-of-towners flocked to beaches.

Running became the most popular workout because of its socially distanced nature.

Isolation spurred Canadians to read, exercise, and call loved ones more.

Children prompted to exercise more, not less, in lockdown.

One maze in Alberta got families moving.

During the pandemic, Canadians did not just become more active, but also more creative in outdoor activities. They used socially distanced exercise to improve their physical and mental health.