3 provinces, 1 territory made pharmacare deals. Ottawa won’t say if others are coming – CBC
Provinces with national program in place seeing savings, expanded coverage
Aug 22, 2025
Two provinces have implemented pharmacare this year, two more jurisdictions are preparing to roll it out and the rest of the country doesn’t know if Ottawa still intends to subsidize some prescription drugs for them, too.
National pharmacare may become a regional privilege afforded to only four of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel raised suspicions Ottawa would abandon future pharmacare deals when she said in July that Canada has “a new government” and the country is “in a new context.”
She had been asked why the talks weren’t progressing.
The minister wasn’t available for an interview this week, but Michel’s office repeated previous statements when it said the government would “protect” the four agreements with B.C., Manitoba, P.E.I. and Yukon — language the Liberals used in the recent election campaign. Her office wouldn’t comment on the status of outstanding deals.
