March 24, 2020 Ontario Emergency Order on Business Closures Takes Effect

On March 24, 2020, Ontario's mandatory closure order took effect, requiring you to shut down your physical workplace if your business wasn't classified as essential. Issued under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, the order gave you less than 24 hours to comply. Penalties were steep — up to $10 million for corporations. You could still operate remotely, fulfill online orders, or offer delivery. There's much more to understand about what this order meant for your business.

Key Takeaways

• Ontario's mandatory closure order was announced March 23, 2020, taking effect March 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
• All non-essential businesses were required to close physical workplaces, though telework, online sales, and delivery remained permitted.
• Essential exemptions included grocery stores, hospitals, long-term care facilities, financial services, shelters, and transportation operations.
• Corporate violators faced fines up to $10 million, while directors and officers risked personal fines up to $500,000.
• The initial closure lasted 14 days, with extensions possible depending on evolving public health conditions.

Ontario's March 24 Order: What It Required and Who It Affected

When Ontario announced its mandatory closure order on March 23, 2020, it set off a sweeping change that took effect the following night at 11:59 p.m., requiring all non-essential places of business across the province to shut their physical doors.

Issued under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, the order defined "business" broadly, covering for-profit, non-profit, and other entities.

You'd face significant economic impact if your workplace wasn't listed as essential.

The initial closure lasted 14 days, with possible extensions.

Businesses outside the essential schedule could still telework, sell online, or operate by phone and delivery.

Non-compliance carried serious legal challenges, including fines up to $10 million for corporations and $500,000 for directors or officers under emergency-order enforcement.

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What Law Gave Ontario the Power to Force Businesses to Close?

The legal muscle behind Ontario's sweeping business closures came from the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), a provincial statute that grants the government broad authority to issue emergency orders during declared crises. This constitutional authority let Queen's Park bypass normal legislative processes.

Here's what that meant for you:

1. Your business could be forced to close with roughly 24 hours' notice.
2. Your civil liberties around operating privately owned property were temporarily overridden.
3. You faced fines up to $10 million if your corporation defied the order.
4. You'd no guaranteed timeline—the initial 14-day closure could extend indefinitely.

The EMCPA effectively handed Ontario an emergency toolkit, and on March 24, the province used every tool in it.

Which Businesses Were Forced to Close?

Ontario's emergency powers under the EMCPA meant nothing without a clear line separating who'd to shut down and who could stay open. If your business wasn't listed on the essential services schedule, you were required to close your physical workplace by 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2020.

The order defined "business" broadly, capturing for-profit companies, non-profits, and other entities alike. No industry automatically escaped scrutiny. The economic impacts hit non-essential retail, personal services, and similar operations immediately. You couldn't simply ignore the order; penalties for non-compliance were severe.

Employee protections remained a concern throughout, as closures displaced workers across multiple sectors. However, the order didn't silence your business entirely — teleworking, phone-based services, and online commerce stayed permitted regardless of your essential status. For workers facing disrupted routines and altered eating habits during the closure period, understanding daily protein, fat, and carb targets became increasingly relevant to maintaining health at home.

Essential Businesses Ontario Exempted From the Closure Order

From the outset, Ontario carved out broad exemptions to keep critical operations running. If your business fell into these categories, you could stay open:

1. Supply chain and retail – grocery stores, wholesalers, and distributors keeping food and goods moving
2. Health care and seniors care – hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities protecting the most vulnerable
3. Community supports – shelters, food banks, and child protection services serving those in crisis
4. Financial and transportation services – banks, transit, and logistics keeping the economy functioning

These exemptions weren't arbitrary. Ontario recognized that shutting down everything would devastate families already struggling.

If your workplace supported people's survival, safety, or basic needs, the province expected you to keep showing up. This approach mirrored earlier public information efforts like Afghanistan's 1970 national rural radio network, which also relied on structured distribution channels to ensure critical health and disaster information reached vulnerable and dispersed communities.

Remote Work and Online Sales Were Still Permitted for All Businesses

Closing your physical doors didn't mean shutting down entirely. Ontario's emergency order still allowed your business to operate remotely, so telework productivity remained a real option regardless of whether you appeared on the essential businesses list. You could keep your team working from home, maintaining operations without violating the closure rules.

E-commerce adaptation was equally important. The order permitted you to continue selling online, fulfilling orders by mail or delivery, and serving customers by telephone. Your physical location had to close, but your digital and remote channels stayed open.

This approach gave every Ontario business a path forward. You weren't forced into complete inactivity — you simply had to shift how you operated and serve customers without requiring in-person workplace contact.

Health and Safety Requirements Ontario Set for Businesses That Stayed Open

Staying open came with real obligations. If your business was essential, Ontario held you accountable for protecting everyone inside your doors.

You had to meet these requirements:

1. Follow all public health advice, including worker screening protocols to catch symptoms before they spread.
2. Enforce physical distancing throughout your workplace — no exceptions for busy periods.
3. Implement mask policies and cleaning and disinfecting routines to reduce transmission risks.
4. Comply fully with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, meaning your workers deserved legal protection, not just goodwill.

Ontario also strongly encouraged you to shift toward curbside pickup or delivery, limiting how many people entered your space.

Staying open wasn't a free pass — it meant accepting responsibility for every worker and customer who walked through your door.

Penalties for Violating the Emergency Order

Ontario didn't treat violations of the emergency order lightly. If your business ignored the closure mandate, you faced serious consequences under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Corporate liability was real and significant — corporations that violated the order risked fines of up to $10 million. Individual directors and officers weren't shielded either, facing personal fines of up to $500,000.

Beyond financial penalties, criminal sanctions were also possible, meaning violations could carry consequences beyond your balance sheet. Ontario structured these penalties deliberately to deter non-compliance and signal that the emergency order carried genuine legal weight. If you operated a non-essential business and kept your physical doors open after 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2020, you were taking on substantial legal risk.

How Ontario Tightened and Clarified the Rules in Early April 2020

As the initial closure order settled in, Ontario revised and clarified its rules in early April 2020, tightening what it meant for certain businesses to qualify as essential.

Public feedback drove sector-specific guidance that hit close to home for many operators:

1. Some businesses previously assuming essential status learned they no longer qualified.
2. Real estate open house events faced explicit restrictions, cutting off a key sales avenue.
3. Businesses staying open had to meet additional conditions beyond simply claiming an exemption.
4. Operations supporting vulnerable populations, including shelters and food banks, received clearer protections.

If you ran a business during this period, you couldn't afford to assume your earlier status held. You'd to actively review the updated rules to stay compliant and avoid severe penalties.

When Ontario Began Allowing Non-Essential Businesses to Reopen

After weeks of closures, the province began a phased reopening that gradually restored operations for non-essential businesses. Ontario tied each stage of reopening to specific public health thresholds, meaning case counts, hospital capacity, and testing levels all had to meet set benchmarks before the province moved forward.

You'd see certain sectors, like curbside retail and some construction trades, reopen earlier than others. Ontario evaluated regional conditions as well, so timelines weren't always uniform across the province. Businesses that reopened had to maintain physical distancing, cleaning protocols, and any sector-specific safety requirements the province imposed.

If you operated a non-essential business, you couldn't simply reopen when you felt ready. You'd to wait for official authorization and then comply with all applicable conditions before welcoming customers back.