Expert panel: Where does national pharmacare stand ahead of 2026 federal budget? |
After much focus in the last few years, the most recent federal budget released in November 2025 included no new funding or announcements and national pharmacare warranted only a passing mention in the 2026 spring economic update presented in late April.
As a reminder of what has happened since the Pharmacare Act passed in October 2024:
The 2024 federal budget committed $1.5 billion in funding over five years but there has been no new funding since.
Only four jurisdictions — Yukon, British Columbia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island — have reached agreements with the federal government for prescription drug funding.
Several other provinces showed interest in reaching agreements of their own but reportedly haven’t received significant engagement from the federal government.
The final report of the National Pharmacare Committee of Experts was submitted in November 2025 but no action has been taken.
Read: Senate passes pharmacare legislation without amendments
Nothing has been said by the federal government so far, but the lack of recent action implies that national pharmacare is no longer the priority it once was. Any pharmacare announcements in the 2026 federal budget would be a surprise.
National pharmacare has been studied a number of times and........