Or the single points of entry and exit. I will admit though that NB and NS both did a good job controlling the borders initially, they also did a good job controlling intra-provincial movement when outbreaks did occur.
NB has had a number of outbreaks spillover from Quebec but the J Division RCMP, under direction from the Provincial EMO, did a phenomenal job cordoning regions and limiting unnecessary movement between zones within the Province. Setup VCPs along with roving patrols for the back roads and give local commanders discretion to turn people away and enforce the movement restrictions as necessary. Not travelling for official business? Well you get go go somewhere else.
Ontario and Quebec both did a bad job doing that which is why they are where they are at now. Looking at this from a military perspective, blanket lockdowns violate a bunch of principles:
Selection and maintenance of the aim, administration, concentration of force, economy of effort, etc. Any law or limit on civil liberties requires an enforcement mechanism. By targeting everything though, you aren't actually targeting anything
Blanket lockdowns are the disease fighting equivalent of Carpet Bombing the Ho Chi Minh trail. You drop a bunch of ordnance but did you actually really achieve anything measurable? You also cause a bunch of spillover damage that won't be accounted for until long after this is over.
Instead of having Security Forces limiting unnecessary movement, you've now got them running around breaking up kids ice skating, busting in on peoples private residences, taking little targeted action and achieving exactly nothing.
Or there is the fact that the disease is probably
cough airborne
cough but nobody will say it because it will mean no workplace is actually safe and that would open up a bunch of refusal to work due to unsafe workplaces which is a can of worms we just can't have.
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