More than a million Canadian citizens and permanent residents returned home last week

More than a million Canadian citizens and permanent residents returned home last week as governments around the world ramped up theirwarnings about the threat ofCOVID-19.

A spokespersonfor the Canada Border Services Agency said959,600 Canadians and 43,890 permanent residents returned to Canadabetween March 14 and March 20.That lines up with the point when Prime Minister Justin Trudeaubegan urgingCanadians to avoidall international travel andForeign Affairs Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne told tourists to get home as soon as possible.

Here is a breakdown of incoming travel over that period, supplied byCBSA spokespersonAshley Lemire.

By air:

• 529,407 Canadians
• 23,615 Permanent residents

By land:

• 428,724 Canadians
• 20,243 Permanent residents

By sea:

• 1,469 Canadians
• 32 Permanent residents

Even more Canadians are expected to come home in the coming days as Canada arrangesa handful of flightsto scoop up travellers stranded abroad by travel restrictions.

This morning,Champagne told CBC Radio's The Current he negotiated with the Peruvian government late into the night to allow three Air Canada flights to enterPeru's closed airspace.

A few hours later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saidtwo more Air Canada flights will pick up Canadians in Morocco in the coming days. Air Canada has also been cleared to fly to Spain, while Air Transat has been cleared for two flights to Honduras and one each to Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala, he said.

"This is probably the largest repatriation effort in Canada's history in peacetime," said Champagne, whosedepartment has received close to 10,000 calls and 14,000 emailsin the last 48 hours.

"This scale and the complexity that we're facing has never been seen before. This is a book yet to be written because no one has ever seen anything like that where you have all these things at the same timeand you're trying to bringpeople back to Canada."

WATCH: Trudeau says the government is trying to get Canadians home

PM Trudeau says the government is trying to get Canadians home

4 years ago

Duration 0:50

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is working with airlines to try and get Canadians who are stuck abroad home.

Champagne said negotiations are underway with other countries that have closed their airspace and borders to try to get Canadians out,and talks continue with allies to set up air bridges.

"It's almost like a chess game. Every time that something is closed, we need to find a way to bring our people [home], and that's what we're doing on a 24-hour, seven-days basis,"he said.

"Butwe have to admit that there will be Canadians who won't be able to come back home, and we'll do our utmost to support them wherever they might be."

The minister urged stranded Canadians to register with the federal government so they can receive new information as the situation develops.

WATCH: Champagne says Canada negotiating 'case by case' for flights home

Canada negotiating 'case by case' with countries for flights home

4 years ago

Duration 3:39

Foreign Affairs Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne says there are unprecedented consular challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and he's negotiating one-to-one with jurisdictions where there are no inbound or outbound flights to bring Canadians home.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said that,so far, more than 28,000 Canadians have registered in the countries where the flights are landing.

The breakdown includes:

• Peru:5,983 Canadians
• Spain:8,835
• Morocco:5,265
• Ecuador:3,184
• El Salvador:1,684
• Guatemala:1,998
• Honduras:1,582

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said thegovernment is trying to strike a "difficult" balance in its efforts to bring home Canadians stranded abroad.

"There are a lot of concerns around how we can return Canadianswhile maintaining the importance of reducing any opportunities for the spread of the illness," he told a news conference today.

"Our goal should be to return Canadianshome as soon and as quickly as possible and as safely as possible."

All travellers returning to Canada are being asked to self-isolate for 14days. That means not even stopping for groceries on the way home.

"We are looking at ways that we can even provide transportation for people that don't have capacity to transport themselves in a way that's private," said Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

"It is very, very important that people take this seriously."

Agriculture MinisterMarie-Claude Bibeausaid the government is also working with Guatemala to fly temporary foreignworkers to Canada ahead of thespring planting.

WATCH: Singh on getting Canadians abroad home

Singh on Canadians abroad

4 years ago

Duration 0:51

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he's prepared to work with the government to help Canadians get back home, but he acknowledged the challenges of doing that while still containing the spread of COVID-19