As the price of prescription drugs increases and provincial healthcare systems are overflowing with patients, there have been talks of the federal government implementing a nationwide pharmacare plan. From December 15 to 17, 2023, we surveyed Canadians to explore their opinions and preferences on a possible pharmacare program and healthcare spending.
Download the report to learn more.
Some of the key highlights of our survey about pharmacare spending include…
- If the federal government had more funding, the top three priorities for Canadians would be to reduce surgical wait times (36%), improve senior care, including more long-term care homes (32%), and expand mental health services (30%).
- 47% of Canadians say they are familiar with the federal government’s plan to introduce a universal plan that would cover the prescription drug expenses for all Canadians, also called pharmacare. In comparison, 53% of Canadians say they are unfamiliar with pharmacare. Respondents living in British Columbia (63%), men (55%), and respondents aged 18-34 years old (52%) are more likely to be familiar with pharmacare.
- For the majority of Canadians, the preferred approach for the new program is to have a program that will cover Canadians who are not currently covered through their employment and have a total annual income of less than $90,000 or are over 65 years old.
- 17% of Canadians think implementing a new drug plan should not be a priority for the government. This proportion is higher among Conservative voters (23%).
Methodology
This web survey was conducted from December 15 to 17, 2023, with 1,622 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison, a probability sample of 1,622 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.43%, 19 times out of 20.