Fewer new measles cases in Ontario, public health data shows

Advertisement

Advertise with us

TORONTO - A Public Health Ontario report released Thursday suggests a continuing downward trend in new measles cases.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2025 (464 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – A Public Health Ontario report released Thursday suggests a continuing downward trend in new measles cases.

The health agency reported 12 new cases in the province, down from 33 additions last week and 96 the week before that.  

Two more people were infected with the highly contagious disease in a northern region that includes Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding areas. That region had been showing the biggest increase in cases for a few weeks.

Warning signage for suspected cases of measles is seen outside the main entrance of Woodstock General Hospital in Woodstock, Ont., Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne
Warning signage for suspected cases of measles is seen outside the main entrance of Woodstock General Hospital in Woodstock, Ont., Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

Meanwhile, four more people were infected in southwestern Ontario — the area that was hardest hit for months. 

Public health officials acknowledged the declining trend but also noted that new cases still emerge weekly and that a reporting lag means it’s possible that infections from previous weeks have not yet been reported.

PHO explained that numbers will dip during an outbreak “as the proportion of susceptible people in communities become immune, through vaccination or infection.”

“PHO will continue to monitor measles data and activity closely in the coming weeks and months,” it said by email.

Ontario has had a total of 2,223 measles cases since an outbreak linked to travel in New Brunswick began last October. 

Thursday’s report also deducted one case that had previously been reported in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph. PHO would not reveal details, citing privacy reasons, but said some cases may be reclassified following an investigation.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada website, New Brunswick hasn’t reported any cases in 2025 as of June 21. 

Alberta has the second-highest number of measles infections in the country, with 1,179 reported as of Thursday, including 74 new cases over the last week.

The majority of people infected in both Ontario and Alberta have been unvaccinated infants, children and adolescents.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Police on scene at Fairmont hotel construction site

1 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 12:19 AM CDT

At least three police cars were present at the under-construction Fairmont Winnipeg Thursday evening.

The nature of the response was unclear, but officers were guiding traffic outside of the construction zone at 2 Lombard Place while the response was underway. At 6:50 p.m., traffic was flowing normally.

Security on site provided no information on the response, but an individual working behind site fencing told the Free Press there’d be no comment from anyone on site as to why police were on scene at this time.

An SUV with a Government of Manitoba logo on its side was also present alongside personnel from Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health. However, it’s unknown if it’s connected to the police response.

Dozens of Uber, Lyft drivers switched to cheaper insurance coverage: MPI probe

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Preview

Dozens of Uber, Lyft drivers switched to cheaper insurance coverage: MPI probe

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026

Ride-service drivers have been defrauding Manitoba Public Insurance by improperly insuring their vehicles as for personal use.

The public insurer and the City of Winnipeg, which regulates ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, discovered the widespread fraud after MPI conducted a review in December last year.

“When a driver changes their coverage from ride-share insurance to a personal vehicle coverage and continues to operate as a ride-share driver, that is fraud, plain and simple,” said MPI chief executive officer Satvir Jatana at a news conference Thursday.

MPI’s review looked at a random sample of 408 ride-hailing vehicles and found 108 were operating without the proper vehicle-for-hire insurance coverage. In order to register with the city as a ride-service driver, a vehicle must have such insurance and proof must be provided to the ride-booking company.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026

Bit of creepy consultation could go a long way

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: Halloween has always been my favourite time of year. I do my house up with lots of spooky lighting and characters on the lawn with eerie sounds booming out.

But last year I got seriously hassled by some people in the neighbourhood who thought it was too creepy. How do I get them on board this year? I don’t want to fight with them again.

— Want to Be Good Neighbour, River Heights

Dear Good Neighbour: Go to your close neighbours and explain what you want to do with your yard for Halloween this year, and also provide them with a firm time by which the celebrating will wrap up and things can quiet down.

Business in brief: Kinew, Canadian ambassador to U.S. discuss trade

Free Press staff 2 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Canada’s ambassador to the United States met Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and local business leaders during a visit to Winnipeg this week.

Mark Wiseman and Kinew spoke about trade uncertainty with the United States and opportunities for Manitoba businesses, a government news release says.

The provincial U.S. Trade Council, the Business Council of Manitoba and part of the Premier’s Business and Jobs Council spoke to Wiseman about the impacts of trade uncertainty.

Province down 4,400 jobsEmployment dropped 0.6 per cent in Manitoba in September, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Yielding attraction

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

Yielding attraction

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Yield is a Rorschach test for investors. Where one see opportunity in high payouts from an investment, another sees high risk.

Consider bonds: yields are moving higher, which implies higher risk in the market, but to an investor considering buying a bond, higher yields represent higher income.

For most of the past 18 years, bond yields have been near historical lows and investors have sought alternatives.

“Canada’s population is aging, with a growing number of investors approaching or entering retirement and looking for more income,” says Pat Sommerville, co-chief executive officer of Hamilton ETFs in Toronto.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

A Rocky day on the mayoral campaign trail for Kevin Klein

Malak Abas 12 minute read Preview

A Rocky day on the mayoral campaign trail for Kevin Klein

Malak Abas 12 minute read Yesterday at 12:00 PM CDT

Kevin Klein acknowledges it’s hard to foresee what he’ll wake up to each morning in the final weeks of a mayoral campaign.

But the seasoned politician, who has served as both a city councillor and a provincial cabinet minister, couldn’t have predicted the events — what he describes as “drama” — that unfolded last Sunday.

Fellow mayoral candidate Mike Vogiatzakis accused Klein’s campaign team of offering him a job to drop out of the race, while a guest writer’s column in the Winnipeg Sun that questioned the deaths of Indigenous children at residential schools, just days after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, sparked condemnation from a prominent Indigenous organization. (Klein is the CEO of the Klein Group, the company that owns the Sun. He has maintained he is not involved in its operations while running for mayor.)

The Free Press had already been scheduled to join Klein on the campaign trail Monday, intending to document a day in the life of the front-running candidate to unseat incumbent Scott Gillingham, before the controversies hit.

Read
Yesterday at 12:00 PM CDT