<s>
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
(	O
French	O
:	O
Alerte	O
COVID	O
)	O
was	O
the	O
Exposure	B-Application
Notification	I-Application
service	O
app	B-Application
for	O
the	O
country	O
of	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
launched	O
in	O
the	O
province	O
of	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
on	O
July	O
31	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
and	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
nearly	O
all	O
Canadian	O
provinces	O
by	O
October	O
of	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
excluding	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
(	O
which	O
continued	O
to	O
use	O
its	O
existing	O
,	O
BlueTrace-based	O
app	B-Application
instead	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
British	O
Columbia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
all	O
other	O
implementations	O
of	O
EN	O
,	O
it	O
uses	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
to	O
broadcast	O
and	O
receive	O
randomly-generated	O
IDs	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
smartphones	B-Application
of	O
other	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
users	O
within	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
vicinity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
all	O
other	O
EN	O
apps	O
,	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
requires	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
with	O
Bluetooth	B-General_Concept
Low	I-General_Concept
Energy	I-General_Concept
support	O
running	O
Android	B-Application
6.0	I-Application
"	I-Application
Marshmallow	I-Application
"	I-Application
or	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
12.5	I-Operating_System
and	O
newer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
app	B-Application
was	O
downloaded	O
over	O
six	O
million	O
times	O
,	O
only	O
roughly	O
57,000	O
positive	O
cases	O
had	O
been	O
reported	O
into	O
the	O
system	O
—	O
leading	O
some	O
critics	O
to	O
dismiss	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
officially	O
discontinued	O
on	O
June	O
17	O
,	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
18	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Prime	O
Minister	O
Justin	O
Trudeau	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
federal	O
government	O
would	O
partner	O
with	O
enterprise	O
technology	O
company	O
BlackBerry	O
Limited	O
and	O
ecommerce	O
firm	O
Shopify	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
voluntary	O
,	O
anonymous	O
contact	B-Application
tracing	I-Application
app	I-Application
to	O
manage	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
in	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
COVID	O
Shield	O
project	O
,	O
an	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
reference	O
implementation	O
backed	O
by	O
volunteer	O
employees	O
of	O
Shopify	O
and	O
the	B-Operating_System
Linux	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
Public	O
Health	O
initiative	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Canadian	O
Digital	O
Service	O
,	O
with	O
BlackBerry	O
providing	O
security	O
guidance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
23	O
,	O
after	O
a	O
delay	O
from	O
an	O
originally-anticipated	O
soft	O
launch	O
in	O
early-July	O
,	O
Canadian	O
Digital	O
Service	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
begin	O
beta	O
testing	O
the	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
app	B-Application
in	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
officially	O
launched	O
on	O
July	O
31	O
in	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
;	O
Trudeau	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
app	B-Application
does	O
not	O
replace	O
manual	O
contact	O
tracing	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
other	O
Canadian	O
provinces	O
would	O
adopt	O
the	O
app	B-Application
"	O
soon	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
17	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
was	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manitoba	O
had	O
already	O
discontinued	O
the	O
app	B-Application
in	O
March	O
2022	O
pursuant	O
to	O
its	O
lifting	O
of	O
public	O
health	O
orders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
October	O
2020	O
,	O
all	O
but	O
two	O
Canadian	O
provinces	O
had	O
adopted	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
with	O
full	O
support	O
for	O
reporting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
unsupported	O
regions	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
receive	O
notifications	O
of	O
possible	O
COVID-19	O
exposures	O
involving	O
users	O
who	O
reside	O
in	O
a	O
supported	O
region	O
,	O
but	O
users	O
cannot	O
send	O
reports	O
of	O
their	O
own	O
positive	O
infections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
not	O
adopted	O
widely	O
;	O
as	O
of	O
February	O
2022	O
the	O
app	B-Application
had	O
over	O
6.8	O
million	O
downloads	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
57,704	O
cases	O
were	O
actually	O
reported	O
via	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newfoundland	O
and	O
Labrador	O
's	O
health	O
minister	O
John	O
Haggie	O
argued	O
in	O
December	O
2021	O
that	O
the	O
app	B-Application
had	O
been	O
"	O
abandoned	O
"	O
by	O
the	O
federal	O
government	O
,	O
and	O
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
government	O
had	O
ceased	O
updating	O
the	O
online	O
dashboard	O
measuring	O
usage	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colin	O
Furness	O
of	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Toronto	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
design	O
and	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
likely	O
made	O
it	O
feel	O
"	O
creepy	O
"	O
to	O
end-users	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
he	O
"	O
would	O
have	O
favoured	O
a	O
design	O
that	O
was	O
more	O
transparent	O
,	O
that	O
was	O
less	O
hermetically	O
sealed	O
to	O
make	O
sure	O
that	O
people	O
had	O
as	O
little	O
information	O
as	O
possible.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Alberta	B-Protocol
had	O
already	O
deployed	O
its	O
own	O
encounter	B-Application
logging	I-Application
app	B-Application
,	O
ABTraceTogether	O
(	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
upon	O
Singapore	O
's	O
TraceTogether	B-Application
app	B-Application
and	O
the	O
BlueTrace	B-Protocol
protocol	O
)	O
,	O
in	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
describing	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
,	O
it	O
provides	O
contact	O
tracing	O
details	O
directly	O
to	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
Health	O
Services	O
,	O
but	O
cannot	O
run	O
in	O
the	O
background	O
on	O
iPhone	O
due	O
to	O
iOS	B-Application
limitations	O
(	O
requiring	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
open	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
foreground	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
operate	O
correctly	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
has	O
faced	O
criticism	O
over	O
this	O
limitation	O
and	O
possible	O
privacy	O
concerns	O
,	O
with	O
calls	O
for	O
the	O
provincial	O
government	O
to	O
migrate	O
to	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
instead	O
to	O
assure	O
more	O
efficient	O
operation	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
interoperability	O
with	O
other	O
provinces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
government	O
accused	O
federal	O
officials	O
of	O
"	O
interfering	O
"	O
with	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
Apple	O
on	O
releasing	O
updates	O
to	O
ABTraceTogether	O
to	O
address	O
these	O
shortcomings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
the	O
month	O
,	O
the	O
province	O
announced	O
plans	O
to	O
"	O
migrate	O
"	O
ABTraceTogether	O
users	O
to	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
,	O
but	O
this	O
did	O
not	O
actually	O
occur	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2020	O
,	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
United	O
Conservative	O
Party	O
(	O
UCP	O
)	O
were	O
heard	O
ridiculing	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
as	O
"	O
Trudeau	O
's	O
app	B-Application
"	O
during	O
Question	O
Period	O
,	O
prompting	O
Mayor	O
of	O
Calgary	O
Naheed	O
Nenshi	O
to	O
call	O
for	O
the	O
province	O
to	O
adopt	O
the	O
app	B-Application
,	O
and	O
warn	O
against	O
the	O
"	O
politicization	O
of	O
public	O
health	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
October	O
30	O
radio	O
interview	O
,	O
Prime	O
Minister	O
Trudeau	O
called	O
upon	O
the	O
UCP	O
government	O
of	O
Premier	O
Jason	O
Kenney	O
to	O
adopt	O
the	O
app	B-Application
,	O
and	O
suggested	O
that	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
residents	O
download	O
it	O
so	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
still	O
detect	O
exposures	O
from	O
individuals	O
from	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
province	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
be	O
ready	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
6	O
,	O
Premier	O
Kenney	O
stated	O
that	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
would	O
not	O
adopt	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
,	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
province	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
operate	O
ABTraceTogether	O
if	O
it	O
did	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
latter	O
was	O
"	O
from	O
our	O
view	O
,	O
simply	O
a	O
better	O
and	O
more	O
effective	O
public	O
health	O
tool	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
British	O
Columbia	O
is	O
not	O
using	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
,	O
with	O
provincial	O
health	O
officer	O
Bonnie	O
Henry	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
app	B-Application
would	O
require	O
"	O
modifications	O
"	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
province	O
,	O
citing	O
issues	O
such	O
as	O
how	O
long	O
it	O
stores	O
contact	O
tracing	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
provincial	O
official	O
stated	O
that	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
"	O
would	O
add	O
significant	O
challenges	O
to	O
[	O
contact	O
tracers' ]	O
work	O
,	O
without	O
supporting	O
B.C.	O
</s>
<s>
Manitoba	O
deprecated	O
COVID	B-Application
Alert	I-Application
on	O
March	O
15	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
lifting	O
of	O
all	O
remaining	O
public	O
health	O
orders	O
.	O
</s>
