NDP Pushing Liberals to Sign Deals With Provinces Now That Pharmacare Is Law

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 19, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

With the NDP’s pharmacare bill now law, Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for the Liberal government to quickly sign agreements with the provinces to implement the program.

“I’m letting Justin Trudeau know right now, I’m letting the government know... don’t drag your feet when it comes to negotiations,” Singh told reporters in Ottawa on Oct. 11. “Start negotiating now and let’s get those deals signed.”

“That is the only way that people will actually receive the benefit,” he added.

The legislation, previously known as Bill C-64, guides the creation of a universal pharmacare plan and allows the federal government to sign deals with provinces and territories to cover birth control and diabetes medications within the public health system. It received royal assent and became law on Oct. 10.

The bill was negotiated as part of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, which was signed in March 2022. Last month, the NDP pulled out of the agreement, which kept the minority Liberals in power in exchange for work on NDP priorities such as pharmacare and dental care.

Following the NDP’s cancellation of the deal in September, the Conservatives have introduced two failed non-confidence votes in an attempt to topple the government. The Bloc Québécois has also threatened to work with the other parties to bring down the government if two of their private member’s bills are not passed by Oct. 29.

Signh did not directly answer reporters’ questions on whether his party’s future support of the Liberals was contingent on the government signing pharmacare agreements with the provinces and territories.

“When it comes to confidence votes, we’ve been very clear: we’re going to look at each vote as it comes,” Singh said. “But I’m letting people know that right now, after this historic bill has been passed into law... I want to see these deals signed.”

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux previously estimated in October 2023 that a single-payer universal drug plan would cost federal and provincial governments an additional $11.2 billion in the first year, and $13.4 billion in five years. The report also said the plan would lead to economy-wide savings, allowing for better price negotiations that would lower drug prices.

Speaking to reporters on Oct. 11, Health Minister Mark Holland said the passage of the pharmacare bill was an “essential first step in making sure that every Canadian everywhere has access to the medication that they need.”

Holland said he hoped Ottawa would be able to sign deals with all the provinces and territories by the spring of 2025.

When asked about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s threat to opt out of the national pharmacare deal, Holland acknowledged it would not be “easy” to make agreements with all the provinces.

While British Columbia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ottawa to implement the pharmacare program, Alberta and Quebec have both said they would opt out of it, while New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have said they would require more information before making a final decision.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he opposes the pharmacare plan, arguing the federal plan would force Canadians to give up their own private drug plans.

“I will reject the radical plan for a ’single-payer' drug plan, which is right in the law,” Poilievre said in the House of Commons on Sept. 24.

Poilievre has said his party would get rid of the federal pharmacare plan if it formed government.