OTTAWA — Manitoba became the first province to officially join Ottawa's pharmacare program on Thursday, giving it access to federal funding to cover the cost of birth control and diabetes medications as well as hormone replacement therapy for menopause.
"This is the beginning of a journey that cannot end," Health Minister Mark Holland said at the announcement in Winnipeg.
"There's no room for politics in this. It's just logic. It's the thing we must do for this country."
The deal will see the federal government spend $219 million on pharmacare coverage for Manitoba over four years.
The cost of contraceptives, diabetes medications and hormone replacement therapies will be covered with no co-pay or dispensing fee for the patient, but people may have to pay pharmacist prescribing fees or delivery fees.
The Manitoba government launched a program last fall to cover the cost of birth control and medications to treat HIV and AIDS.
"This is going to allow for us to expand," said Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, adding that additional contraceptives will be covered by the federal program, along with menopause therapies.
The federal Pharmacare Act became law in October, setting the stage for Ottawa to begin negotiations with provinces and territories.
The initial phase of the program provides coverage for diabetes and birth control drugs while a yearlong study determines the best path toward a full universal pharmacare program.
The legislation was a key part of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP that kept the Liberal minority government in power for more than two years.
In a statement on Thursday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh urged the Liberals to sign deals with the other 12 provinces and territories quickly.
"Every day the Liberals drag their feet is another day that Canadians are pulling out their wallets and paying for prescriptions that the law says should be free now, or going without the medications they need," Singh said.
Coverage in Manitoba under the federal deal is expected to begin in June.
That timeline may place the start of the program after the next federal election. It appears increasingly likely that Canadians will be sent to the polls next month, after the Liberals choose their next leader.
"I wish we could snap our fingers and do these things, but there's a lot of logistics," Holland said when asked why the coverage won't begin sooner.
He said the government wants to be "flawless" in its execution of the program.
"If this is going to be enduring, it has to be done right," he said.
It's clear the program's future will become a factor in the next election campaign.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke against the "radical plan" in the House of Commons last fall, and all Conservative MPs voted against the pharmacare legislation.
In a statement on Thursday, Conservative health critic Stephen Ellis argued a universal pharmacare program would kick millions of people off their workplace benefit plans and said his party will instead "work with provinces to improve prescription drug access for Canadians."
Singh said the NDP will run in the next election on expanding the program.
Last month, Holland suggested New Democrats should consider keeping the minority Liberals in power longer to ensure pharmacare deals get signed before an election.
But Mark Carney, the apparent front-runner in the Liberal leadership race, said this week that it's likely he would call an early election if he wins the race on March 9.
Holland said all the Liberal leadership candidates have committed to continuing the pharmacare program.
"I think this is a statement of values for this country, that we stand behind women having autonomy over their own bodies," he said.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce expressed disappointment with the news on Thursday, saying it believes the government's approach will "result in access to fewer drugs, worse health outcomes for Canadians, and drastic increases in public spending."
The federal government has set aside $1.5 billion for the initial phase of pharmacare. A full, universal insurance program is expected to cost another $11.2 billion a year, according to the parliamentary budget officer.
Thursday's announcement also included $48 million in federal funding to cover the cost of diagnosing, screening and treatment for rare diseases.
That funding is part of a $1.5-billion national strategy for drugs for rare diseases that was launched in March 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.
Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
