As the Liberals and New Democrats negotiate what form the future national pharmacare plan should take, a new poll suggests the bill is not at the top of the list of priorities for most Canadians.
Participants in Léger’s survey were asked to name their top two health care priorities. Only 18% responded that the federal government should prioritize creating a new single-payer universal pharmacare program.
Increased funding to reduce surgical wait times, building more long-term care facilities, and expanding mental health services garnered significantly more support, at 36%, 32 % and 30% respectively.
“All of this comes before the universal, single-payer drug insurance plan,” says Léger executive vice-president Christian Bourque. It is not at the top of Canadians’ list of priorities. »
The Léger polling firm conducted the online survey of 1,622 Canadians from Friday to Sunday. Online surveys cannot be given a margin of error because they are not considered truly random samples.
As part of their agreement with the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Liberals promised to pass pharmacare legislation that would serve as the basis for a national pharmacare plan by the end of 2023 .
The survey shows that 53% of those questioned did not know the plans of Justin Trudeau’s government.
As part of the deal, the New Democrats said they would support the minority government in key votes in the House of Commons in exchange for progress on NDP priorities, such as pharmacare.
However, the two parties failed to agree on the wording of the bill before the House of Commons adjourned for the holiday period.
They therefore agreed on a new deadline, 1er March, for the Liberals to table a bill.
The main sticking point appears to be the NDP’s insistence on a universal, single-payer system, which was the model recommended by Canada’s Advisory Council on Implementing National Pharmacare in 2019.
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland has also repeatedly spoken about the need for the government to be fiscally prudent.
Not totally closed to the idea
Of those surveyed, only 22% indicated that a new drug plan should replace the basic one they receive from their employer.
A proportion of 44% of respondents favor a plan that would offer coverage to people without drug insurance, the elderly and people earning less than $90,000 per year.
“This is probably due, to some extent, to the fact that two out of three Canadians benefit from private health insurance, either themselves or through their spouse,” says Mr. Bourque.
While there does not appear to be overwhelming support for a national pharmacare plan, there is also no outright opposition to the idea, notes the Léger representative.
Only 17% of respondents said a new drug plan should not be a priority for the government. Even among respondents who intend to vote for the Conservative Party, opposition to the regime is relatively weak.
“If we consider the Conservatives’ electoral base, only 23% of them say they do not want any part of the drug insurance plan,” maintains Mr. Bourque.
“So, if there was some form of drug insurance, I think that would be good news for a majority of Canadians,” he adds.
Voting intentions
Even if the Liberals and New Democrats agree on the wording of a pharmacare bill, there is no guarantee that the government will move forward with a national pharmacare plan in the immediate future .
The bill is essential to secure the support of the NDP and avoid an election before the vote scheduled for 2025.
This is all the more important for the government’s political future as the Conservatives far outpaced the Liberals in the polls this year.
Léger found in his latest poll that support for Pierre Poilievre’s troops has decreased slightly in recent weeks.
Among decided voters, 38% of respondents said they would vote Conservative if a federal election were held at the time of the poll. This is down from 40% of respondents at the end of November.
But the Conservatives maintain a considerable lead over the Liberals (28%) and the New Democrats (18%).