Right now, we’re doing everything we can to get as many Canadians vaccinated as quickly as possible. Last week, we received 3.2 million vaccines, including shipments from Pfizer and Moderna as well as 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses from the U.S as part of an exchange agreement. We worked quickly to distribute those vaccines across Canada and as of late, we’ve delivered more than 10 million doses to the provinces and territories, blowing past our promised target of 6 million doses delivered before April.

We are now on track to receive another 6 million vaccine doses by April 19th, as well as more than 9.6 million doses from Pfizer alone in the month of June – which means more vaccines for our elderly parents and grandparents, essential workers, and other vulnerable Canadians. By the end of September, we’ll have enough vaccines for every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated.

Until that time, we must all do our part to curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect ourselves, others, and our frontline health care workers. As always, please follow COVID-19 best practices. That includes following local public health advice like staying two metres apart and wearing masks, using the COVID Alert application and staying home and avoiding non-essential travel as much as possible. We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through it together.

Supporting Canadians with the Safe Restart Agreement

Keeping Canadians safe and healthy during the pandemic requires a Team Canada approach. That’s why we’ve been working directly with provinces and territories since the onset of this crisis to ensure they have the supports they need to deal with the virus and restart local economies.

Last June, the Prime Minister announced an agreement to safely restart the economy that included over $19 billion in funding from our government. Thanks to this funding, provinces and territories were able to make major investments to support the purchase of PPE and other medical supplies for frontline workers, increase testing and contact tracing, and deliver essential services that Canadians rely on every day, like public transit. The Safe Restart Agreement also provided direct support to Canadian families by ensuring that safe and sufficient child care spaces were available to help parents return to work.

As we continue to vaccinate Canadians and fight the virus, our government will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to keep Canadians safe and healthy. Together, we will save lives while building back a stronger, more competitive and more resilient Canada for all.