Manitoba Signs Federal Pharmacare Deal and Nova Scotia Should Too
Wellness Within (WW) repeats its call for the government of Nova Scotia to coordinate with the federal government to reach a pharmacare agreement without delay. “Nova Scotians are facing interlocking crises of gendered violence and unaffordable living; universal contraception coverage is a concrete, effective and important tool to address both” says Natasha Hines, Chair of Wellness Within. “Nova Scotians cannot afford to wait any longer for these life-saving benefits.”
“Nobody should ever have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and putting food on the table” (Health Canada, 2025). After implementing universal contraception access in October 2024, Manitoba has just become the first province to sign a pharmacare agreement with the Government of Canada. Through this agreement, the Government of Canada has committed to providing more than $219 million over four years for universal single-payer coverage for a broad range of contraceptives and diabetes medications, improved access to diabetes supplies and devices, and free public coverage for hormonal replacement therapy for menopause. Manitobans will begin to see benefits from this historical agreement in June 2025. WW applauds the Manitoban government on taking this incredible step forward to improve health equity and health outcomes for its residents.
Nova Scotia has the highest poverty rate in the country. Our province needs this change urgently. In the 2025-2026 provincial budget, the Nova Scotia government states it will work towards “making life more affordable” and “building a healthy population”. Signing onto a federal pharmacare deal, and preserving Canadian public healthcare, does just that.
Reaching a deal with the federal government to bring universal, single-payer coverage of contraceptives, diabetes medications and supplies, and hormone replacement therapy to Nova Scotians will show the provincial government is able to demonstrate leadership in the health sector, and set aside partisan differences to create positive change. In an ever changing political climate, we hope to see unity in the name of making life better and more affordable for all.
Wellness Within is a volunteer-based non-profit organization that serves women, transgender, and nonbinary people who have experienced criminalization and are pregnant or have young children in Nova Scotia, part of the unceded and unsurrendered ancestral territory of the Mi'kmaq people.
Wellness Within supports people through the full spectrum of reproductive health experience; facilitates workshops and education sessions; develops resource materials; and advocates for reproductive justice issues.
Contact: Natasha Hines, Chair, (902)717-2956 or natasha_hines@outlook.com, and Dr. Martha Paynter, Director of Research, 902-292-7082 or martha.paynter@gmail.com
