The purported goal of the lockdowns was to lessen the burden on the already overloaded healthcare system by reducing severe COVID-19 cases, also known more colloquially as the flatten the curve (aplatir la courbe) strategy.

In total, the largest population centres of the province were under significant restrictions, which generally comprised the closure of non-essential businesses and the banning of most indoor gatherings, for 15 months.

Though Quebec took a comparatively harsh approach to public health restrictions, the provincial government, led by Premier François Legault, emphasized keeping schools open for as long as possible, despite initial pushback citing superspreader events.

Nonetheless, in September 2021 the province was the first in Canada to institute a vaccine passport for places considered to be high-risk, including restaurants, theatres, gyms, and bars.

The pandemic first spread to Quebec in late February 2020, with the first confirmed case being a 41-year-old woman from Montreal who had returned from Iran on a flight from Doha, Qatar.

[21] In September 2020, certain restrictions, including the prohibition of private gatherings and the closure of indoor dining rooms, were reinstated in the greater areas of Montreal and Quebec City.

Notably, gyms were forced to close again, capacity limits for places of worship were lowered, and a mixed model of in-person and remote instruction was enacted in high schools.

[27][28] As cases began to fall in tandem with the acceleration of the vaccination campaign in May,[29] restrictions started to loosen, with the curfew ending on May 28 in the entire province.

[31] Despite this measure, a partial lockdown began on December 20, 2021, as the highly contagious Omicron variant generated record numbers of new cases.

[45] On September 8, 2020, the province unveiled a four-tier, colour-coded system of regional health restrictions based on caseload and healthcare capacity.

[50][51][52] A month after the pandemic arrived in Quebec, the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, predicted a budget deficit of between $10 and $15 billion for the year 2020.

[63][64] The extent of the economic impact of the pandemic quickly sparked initiatives to promote local purchasing, including the #OnSeSerreLesCoudes ("We stick together") social media campaign.

[65] The Quebec government launched its own initiative, the Panier Bleu, which is a website that lists Quebecois retailers offering online sales.

[98] The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, a union representing healthcare workers, suggests that over the first year of the pandemic, 4,000 nurses in Quebec quit the profession.

[103][104] As of April 1, 2020, 519 long-term care facilities in Quebec, including both lodging centres for long-term care (French: centre d'hébergement de soins de longue durée, CHSLD) and private seniors' residences (French: résidence privée pour aînés, RPA),[106] had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19.

[110] The same day, Premier Legault announced that the province would deploy 500 nurses, 450 doctors, and more equipment to long-term care facilities in order to help reduce their burden.

CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSSOIM) president Lynne McVey stated that the facility's owner was uncooperative, preventing authorities from obtaining the health records of its residents until April 8.

[109] The same day, the owners of CHSLD Herron sent a letter to Legault accusing CIUSSSOIM of engaging in a cover-up, claiming that 28 of the deaths reported had actually occurred after the facility was placed under trusteeship on March 29, disputing that they had not allowed them access to health records until April 8, and that "no communication was made to the families of the residents by the representatives of the CIUSSSOIM, despite numerous requests made to that effect by the employees as well as members of the management of the CHLSD Herron.

"[120] On April 16, the Montreal Regional Director of Public Health, Mylène Drouin, stated that outbreaks of COVID-19 had affected at least 75% of long-term care facilities in the city.

[124] On May 5, 2020, Premier Legault announced that some restrictions in uninfected RPAs would be lifted, allowing residents to go for walks unaccompanied and to meet with family outdoors, as long as social distancing measures were being respected.

[127] In 2021, an analysis conducted by two economists found that if Quebec had had similar rates of death in long-term care homes as in some European countries, up to 6,700 lives could have been saved.

[133][134] Since March 15, 2020, all hearings before a judicial administrative court must be held behind closed doors, and all visits (except those of lawyers) to a detention facility in Quebec were suspended.

[138] Since March 19, orders made by the Court of Quebec that allowed children of the DPJ to maintain physical contact with their biological parents were suspended.

[143] On March 11, 2020, Premier Legault recommended that a voluntary 14-day quarantine be imposed on all students and faculty returning from school trips to countries strongly affected by the pandemic (such as China and Italy), even if there are no signs of symptoms.

[158][159] The province launched a website known as L'École Ouverte (Open School), which provides a collection of online education resources and activities in French and English.

[162] On March 21, 2020, the provincial government awarded a $7 million grant to Medicago, a Quebec City-based firm that was developing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

[163][164] On March 23, a team at the Montreal Heart Institute led by Jean-Claude Tardif launched a clinical trial exploring the use of colchicine to help treat complications of COVID-19.

[168][169] The Montreal Symphony Orchestra cancelled concerts scheduled through May 24 (including a planned performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall).

[187] On April 11, Tennis Canada announced that the women's tournament of the 2020 Rogers Cup would be postponed, pursuant to the request by the provincial government.

[204] During their May 29, 2021 playoff game, the Canadiens became the first Canadian NHL team to admit limited ticketed spectators in the season[205][206] From August 2020 to July 2021, the Montreal Impact (renamed CF Montreal prior to the 2021 Major League Soccer season) and all other Canadian MLS teams played all matches behind closed doors at sites in the United States.