Ottawa Spent Nearly $10 Million Advertising COVID-19 Vaccines on Social Media

A syringe is loaded with COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic run by Vancouver Coastal Health, in Richmond, B.C., on April 10, 2021. The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward

The Canadian government has spent $9.9 million on social media advertising campaigns for COVID-19 vaccines since 2020.

Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) spent a total of $4.6 million on production costs and $5.3 million on advertising for the 12 campaigns, which were posted to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, and Pinterest between 2020 and 2024. The information was revealed following an Inquiry of Ministry from Conservative MP Ted Falk published on April 8.