Ottawa, ON – [June 3, 2025] — As Canada’s premiers meet to advance economic cooperation and interprovincial reform, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is calling on leaders to recognize a critical gap in their conversations: healthcare.
While provinces work to align trade, labour and regulatory standards, people with cancer and their families are left waiting – waiting for access to clinical trials, waiting for new treatments to become available and waiting for life-saving medications to be publicly covered. For someone facing cancer, every day matters. These delays aren’t just inconvenient—they can change the course of a life.
“Cancer is already hard, accessing treatment shouldn’t be,” says Dr. Stuart Edmonds, Executive Vice President of Mission, Research and Advocacy at the Canadian Cancer Society. “And when healthcare is left out of pan-Canadian conversations, people are left behind. It’s time to bring the same urgency – and compassion – to healthcare that we bring to economic policy. Because behind every delay there is a person, a family, a life.”
Patients wait too long at every stage of care
For many people with cancer, clinical trials offer the best hope. Yet access is limited by regulatory red tape and geography. Canada’s clinical trial ecosystem is fragmented, under-resourced and increasingly reliant on foreign investment. As a result, patients are missing opportunities to access leading-edge care, and researchers face delays in launching studies that could shape the future of cancer.
Even after new treatments are proven safe and effective, they are too often held up by lengthy reviews, negotiations and inconsistent public listing timelines. Despite reaching pricing agreements at the federal level, provinces vary widely in how, when and if they cover new treatments. For people with cancer, these delays can mean missing windows for treatment.
And when drugs are listed, coverage is not guaranteed. Canada is the only G7 country without a national essential medicines list. Take-home cancer drugs, now a standard of care for many cancers, are not universally funded. In some provinces, cancer patients face out-of-pocket costs of up to $6,000 a month. In jurisdictions with limited coverage, 20% fewer patients access these therapies compared to those in fully funded systems.
Gaps in care impact our economy
These gaps in access not only create inequities between provinces, territories and among people with cancer, but they come at a great cost to our economy. Cancer is the leading cause of death and illness in the country. In 2024 alone, its total cost to Canada was $37.7 billion, with people with cancer and their loved ones shouldering 20% of total cancer costs in lost wages and out-of-pocket expenses.
The financial strain goes beyond lost wages and productivity. A national poll commissioned by CCS and Heart & Stroke in 2024 found that 1 in 5 Canadians do not have sufficient prescription drug coverage, leaving many unable to afford essential cancer treatments. Even among those with private insurance, high deductibles and rising out-of-pocket costs force people to make impossible financial choices – like delaying care, taking on debt, or leaving the workforce entirely.
"Living in Canada, I believed that a breast cancer diagnosis would come with world-class care. But at nearly every step, I encountered barriers — from out-of-pocket costs for managing side effects and travel, to the frustration of learning about new therapies that weren’t available to me,” says Marie Grgic, a breast cancer survivor and advocacy volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society. “One of the most disheartening moments was discovering that custom breast prostheses aren’t covered here — even though they are in countries like the U.S. and Germany. It doesn’t have to be this way. Patients across the country are calling on elected officials to step up and ensure that access to care isn’t a privilege, but a right."
Coverage discrepancies across provinces and territories also impact where people can afford to live and work. While some provinces fully fund critical drugs and supportive therapies, others leave individuals facing thousands of dollars in monthly drug costs, restricting economic opportunity at a time where governments are actively removing trade barriers and encouraging labour mobility.
As Canada works toward a more connected and mobile workforce, drug access must evolve alongside it.
Calling for action
CCS is calling on governments to take coordinated action in 3 areas:
· Remove barriers to clinical trial access by harmonizing ethics review, investing in infrastructure and ensuring people with cancer have the right to be informed about clinical trials.
· Accelerate time to patient by modernizing regulatory and reimbursement systems and creating clear benchmarks for provincial drug listing timelines.
· Establish a pan-Canadian oncology and supportive care formulary to ensure that cancer drugs and supportive medications are publicly accessible and affordable, regardless of where a person lives.
“These are not isolated issues for one province, territory or the federal government to solve on their own – they are shared, structural and absolutely solvable,” says Edmonds. “When a treatment exists, no one should have to wait for it. And when research offers hope, that hope should be accessible for everyone, no matter where they live.”
About the Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society works tirelessly to save and improve lives. We raise funds to fuel the brightest minds in cancer research. We provide a compassionate support system for all those affected by cancer, across Canada and for all types of cancer. Together with patients, supporters, donors and volunteers, we work to create a healthier future for everyone. Because to take on cancer, it takes all of us. It takes a society.
Help us make a difference. Call 1-888-939-3333 or visit cancer.ca today.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Victoria Young
Communications Coordinator
416-572-4252
victoria.young@cancer.ca