Poilievre Calls Pharmacare for All 'Radical,' Said He’ll Reject It if Elected

“No parent should have to stare at an emergency airlift and wonder if they can afford the drugs and medical supplies to keep their child alive.”

That line hit me like a punch in the gut. It comes from a recent CBC interview with Scott MacMillan, a dad in New Brunswick whose 15-month-old daughter almost died in 2022. She was rushed to Halifax in diabetic ketoacidosis — her tiny body shutting down because it couldn’t produce insulin.

Thanks to Canada’s medicare system, the hospital stay, emergency airlift, and specialists were covered. But the insulin and glucose monitors Rosemary now needs to survive every single day? Not covered. Not unless you're lucky enough to have a good job with good benefits. And even then, it’s hit or miss.

This is the gap in our healthcare system that pharmacare is meant to fix.

Canada is the only universal health-care country in the world that doesn’t cover prescription drugs. The new pharmacare law — passed in late 2024 is a step forward. It covers some diabetes medications and birth control, and provinces like Manitoba, B.C., and P.E.I. have already signed on.

But it’s still fragile. It needs more political will to survive — and grow.

Pierre Poilivre and the Conservative Party have been against the pharmacare act all along.

Poilievre voted against the pharmacare bill. Poilievre called it a “radical single-payer drug plan” and said he’ll reject it if elected.

As the CBC feature on Scott McMillan and his daughter Rosemary sums it up best when it comes to the Poilivre and pharamcare:

"We haven't yet seen the full benefit of pharmacare — it's still in its infancy. It needs nurturing to grow into something that can care for us and care for my daughter long after I'm gone.

And yet, its future feels uncertain."

It goes on:

"The Conservative Party voted against the act initially and its leader, Pierre Poilievre, said he would "reject the radical plan for a 'single-payer' drug plan.'" Since the election was called, he said that no one currently receiving benefits, such as dental care, would lose them. Because no pharmacare benefits have been technically issued yet (given that provinces and Ottawa are still working out the details), his wording leaves the door open to ending the program before it even begins."