Singh promises to fight for an expanded pharmacare program

VANCOUVER – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday the NDP will fight for a pharmacare expansion in the next Parliament as he also made a case for minority governments.

“Parliament works best when one party doesn’t have all the power,” Singh said.

In recent days, Singh has shifted away from talking about campaigning to be prime minister and has instead framed his policy announcements as arguments for electing more New Democrats, a trend that continued Wednesday in a campaign stop in Vancouver.

Singh made the pharmacare announcement at a pharmacy, flanked by incumbent candidates Jenny Kwan, Don Davies and Bonita Zarrillo. Davies led the NDP’s pharmacare negotiations with the Liberals.

“If Canadians elect enough of us, I will be honoured to provide that type of leadership that every day focuses on what people need, fights for people every day,” Singh said.

“People are telling me that they believe that Ottawa works best when one party doesn’t have all the power. And if that’s you, if you think that’s something that resonates with you … then re-elect your New Democrat MPs and elect more of us, and we’ll fight hard for you.”

The NDP held the balance of power in the last minority Parliament through its supply and confidence deal with the Liberals. That deal saw New Democrats vote to keep the minority Liberal government in power in exchange for movement on NDP priorities like pharmacare.

The federal government has agreements with British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Yukon to provide coverage under the pharmacare program. The agreements currently cover diabetes medication and birth control.

Singh said the NDP will fight to expand pharmacare coverage to “around 100 of the most prescribed medications,” which he argued would cover about half of all prescriptions in Canada at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $3.5 billion annually.

Davies said the party is working off a World Health Organization list of “essential medications,” including antibiotics, pain medication and cancer drugs.

“These lists are employed all over the world. Canada is a laggard. Most countries have some form of universal pharmacare. Canada does not,” Davies said.

Singh has ruled out propping up a minority Conservative government but has not made the same claim about a potential Mark Carney-led Liberal minority.

Davies said that in the previous Liberal minority government, the NDP secured the “biggest health care expansion in a half century.”

“We got concrete results for millions of people. And that’s why I think Mr. Singh is so right when he says that Parliament works better when parties are working together,” Davies said.

“I’ve learned no party has a monopoly on good ideas. They come from all sides, and Canadians want to see New Democrats in Parliament pushing for progressive ideals.”

Singh also took time Wednesday to respond to a Saskatchewan Party MLA who called him “a terrorist” from the floor of the provincial legislature. That comment was allowed to stand by the Speaker.

The NDP leader said he doesn’t care about the comment personally but he’s worried about the message it sends to people in the province, especially kids.

“On a quick Google, you know that this is completely false,” Singh said, adding that he fears comments like these open the door to discrimination. “I think now more than ever, we’ve got to find ways where we look out for one another.

“We got a real enemy. We got Donald Trump attacking our country, we got uncertainty, and we got fear; we’ve got worries that Canadians are going through. Let’s come together and find ways to give people some hope.”

MLA Racquel Hilbert has since apologized for the “inaccurate and inappropriate statement” and says that she withdraws it.

When Parliament was dissolved last month, half of the NDP’s 24 MPs represented B.C. ridings. The province’s NDP Premier David Eby recently encouraged British Columbians to vote for his federal counterparts.

Davies said he and his colleagues are focusing on the campaign ground game to expand their seat count, though most polls suggest the NDP is struggling even on the West Coast. The NDP took almost one-third of the popular vote in B.C. in the 2021 election but a Leger poll for The Canadian Press published Monday suggests the party’s support in the province is at 11 per cent now.

Earlier this month, Carney said that a Liberal government would commit to maintaining the current pharmacare program but any expansion would need to take place in the context of other priorities.

“I think Canadians are worried when they hear Mark Carney talk about stopping it, not continuing it, not moving forward with it. They’re worried about that because they want to see more medication covered,” Singh said.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also has said that no one currently receiving pharmacare or dental-care benefits would lose them if his party forms government.

Singh concluded the the day with a rally for around 300 supporters and volunteers in Saskatoon West NDP candidate’s Rachel Loewen Walkers office. This is the largest campaign office rally Singh has held to date.

Both reiterated their call for more NDP MPs to be elected in order to push for expansions to programs like pharmacare. 

Following that rally, Singh met with members of the Saskatoon Sikh community at a local gurdwara.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.