Adam R Houston and colleagues argue that Canada needs to reverse its track record from covid-19 and prioritise public need over profits in its domestic investments and global leadership for health
Inequitable access to covid-19 vaccines1—as well as tests, treatments, and other tools— has cost millions of lives, prolonged the pandemic, and highlighted tensions between countries’ domestic responses and their collective global responsibilities. Resolving such tensions has continued implications, including for the pandemic treaty currently being negotiated by the World Health Assembly.2 These tensions are also witnessed within Canada, a high income country that frames itself as a global health leader3 yet became one of the most prominent hoarders of the limited global covid-19 vaccine supply, despite itself being wholly reliant on importation.
The government of Canada has a history of providing financial support for global health programmes and initiatives, but its record of sharing scarce commodities is less impressive. In 2009, the government’s reticence to share H1N1 vaccines led to Canada’s absence from a multinational dose sharing arrangement.4 In 2022, the government procured additional doses of the mpox vaccine it had been stockpiling for over a decade, while never publicly responding to the World Health Organization’s calls to share doses during a global shortage.5 More broadly, financial contributions are rarely complemented by support for systemic change to improve access to medicines and technologies. These patterns are reflected in the covid-19 response.
Early in the pandemic Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, alongside other world leaders, called for fair and equal access to vaccines once they were developed.6 As vaccines became reality, however, the focus rapidly turned inward towards securing vaccines for Canadians. By December 2020, the government boasted of securing the most doses per capita of any country—up to 429 million doses of …