Delayed agreements raise concerns over unequal access to key medications across provinces
Thousands more women in British Columbia opted for intrauterine devices (IUDs) once the province began covering them — a jump that researchers say reveals how upfront costs can block access to more effective birth control.
As per a new BMJ study cited by CTV News, prescriptions for all types of contraceptives rose significantly after B.C. implemented full coverage in April 2023, with IUDs driving a 49 percent increase.
Lead author Laura Schummers, a pharmaceutical sciences professor at the University of British Columbia, said this shows that “costs alone are a huge barrier to the most effective methods of contraception across Canada.”
According to Schummers, the research tracked nearly 860,000 women’s prescription data from April 2023 to June 2024, finding 11,000 more IUD prescriptions than anticipated.
While IUDs last at least three years, upfront costs can reach $450, versus about $25 for monthly pills — prompting many to opt for cheaper, less effective methods, or none at all.
The study also found the largest increases in uptake occurred among women aged 20 to 29, a group that had previously been less likely to use prescription contraception.
Monthly prescription fills across all methods rose by 1,981 beyond expected levels.
However, access to this kind of coverage remains fragmented across the country.
As reported by The Canadian Press, the federal government has signed pharmacare funding agreements with only four jurisdictions: British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Yukon.
The program, passed in October 2024 under the Pharmacare Act, provides funding for contraceptives and diabetes medications as its first phase, along with a mandate to explore full universal pharmacare.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel confirmed last week that no commitment has been made to expand these deals.
“It’s a new government, and we are in a new context, and we have to have discussions with the provinces to see how we can support them,” she said during a press conference in Fredericton.
According to a federal spokesperson, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised during the election campaign not to cut existing deals, but did not pledge to expand them.
This uncertainty has raised concerns about uneven access to medications across provinces.
As reported by CBC News, Newfoundland and Labrador — which has not signed onto the federal program — could gain more than $84m in funding, according to a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimate.
Yvonne Earle, pharmacare advocate and member of the Avalon chapter of the Council of Canadians, said residents should be able to access diabetes and contraceptive medications using just their MCP card.
She said conversations with Ottawa have stalled, noting, “It’s now been four months since the federal election and we’re still not hearing anything.”
As per Diabetes Canada, around 93,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador — about 18 percent of the population — have Type 1 or 2 diabetes.
The organisation's senior policy manager Laura O’Driscoll said treatment costs in the province range from $400 to $10,000 annually depending on private insurance or eligibility for the province’s low-income drug plan.
“We urge … the federal government and provincial and territorial partners to continue to have conversations about reducing the out-of-pocket costs,” said O’Driscoll.
In Nova Scotia, South Shore Sexual Health executive director Julie Veinot said she was surprised that not all provinces may receive coverage.
“We don’t want folks to have to pick between paying rent and buying birth control,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Local pharmacist Kari Ellen Graham said she has seen customers walk away without contraception because they could not afford the cost.
One customer in an abusive relationship returned the following year with a baby. “It’s a really sad thing when people don’t have reproductive autonomy,” Graham said.
Amanda Black, past president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, said contraception coverage makes economic sense.
Her 2015 paper estimated that unintended pregnancies cost the healthcare system at least $320m annually — a figure she believes is higher in 2025.
She also referenced a 2018 UBC study showing the province breaks even within two years of funding birth control. “After that the government is actually saving money,” she said.
Black added that not extending pharmacare would represent a step backwards, particularly “as reproductive rights are being rolled back in other parts of the world.”
Advocates across provinces have echoed the call for equal access.
Liz Thompson, advocacy lead at Ontario-based Cover Contraception, said the lack of clarity from Ottawa is “really disappointing” and reflects uncertainty: “It seems like they don’t really know what they’re going to do.”
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, chair of the Access B.C. campaign, said the government appears focused on global economic issues such as tariffs while overlooking access to medication at home.
“You have a government that’s hyper-focused on these macro issues and I worry that they’re forgetting about everyday Canadians,” he said.
Elizabeth Kwan, senior researcher at the Canadian Labour Congress, said failing to sign more pharmacare deals would “break a promise to Canadians.”
She added that many workers depend on employer drug plans, but with ongoing layoffs — including those from Hudson’s Bay closures and Ontario college program cuts — that coverage is eroding.
“This is why we need a universal public system,” she said.
