New Brunswick Promises to Move Forward on Free Contraception While Nova Scotia Falls Behind
Wellness Within is thrilled to see that New Brunswick has launched a centralized self-referral abortion phone line to navigate care across the province — becoming the second province to do so after Nova Scotia. In the CBC News article posted April 8, 2026, New Brunswick Health Minister John Dornan reiterates the Holt government’s commitment to their promise of free contraception. Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia government continues to delay.
Wellness Within and fellow advocates reiterate the call for free prescription contraception in Nova Scotia. With universal coverage already implemented in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick delivering on their promise will leave Nova Scotia as the only Atlantic province without free contraception. “Other provinces have seen the benefits that this policy affords,” said Natasha Hines, Chair of Wellness Within and a founding member of the Access Now Nova Scotia coalition. “Access to free contraception should not depend on your postal code.”
Access BC recently celebrated British Columbia’s third anniversary since implementing free contraception — a program that has been wildly successful. Between April 1, 2023 and February 28, 2026, the Ministry of Health reports that 407,000 people were able to access a wide range of prescription contraceptives at no cost (including emergency contraception).
Wellness Within is a volunteer-based registered 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, natasha_hines@outlook.com or (902)717-2956, and Martha Paynter, martha.paynter@unb.ca or (902)292-7082
