On February 27, 2025, the Government of Canada and Manitoba signed the first national pharmacare agreements under Canada’s Bill C-64, An Act respecting pharmacare (the “Pharmacare Act”), which received royal assent on October 10, 2024, and established a framework for national pharmacare (see our post here). Shortly thereafter, on March 6 and 7, 2025, British Columbia (“BC”) and Prince Edward Island (“PEI”), respectively, also signed their own pharmacare agreements.
On March 6, 2025, the Honourable Mark Holland, Canada's Minister of Health, and the Honourable Josie Osborne, BC’s Minister of Health, announced the signing of a pharmacare agreement to invest more than $670 million over four (4) years to provide universal access to contraceptive and diabetes medications, devices and supplies for residents of BC. As part of this agreement, BC will also provide free public coverage of hormone replacement therapy to treat menopausal symptoms for all residents. BC residents can expect to begin receiving coverage for these products in March 2026.
The following day, Minister Holland and the Honourable Mark McLane, Minister of Health and Wellness for PEI announced a $40 million federal investment as part of two bilateral agreements to improve access to medications for Islanders. Through the national pharmacare agreement, the Government of Canada will provide more than $30 million over four (4) years for universal coverage to a range of contraceptives and diabetes medications, devices and supplies for PEI residents. This coverage is expected to begin May 1, 2025. In addition, the Government of Canada committed over $10 million to improve access to drugs for rare diseases, early diagnosis, and screening, to support PEI in providing access under the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases.
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