Pharmacare not the top health priority for most Canadians: survey

As Liberals and New Democrats negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.

As Liberals and New Democrats negotiate what a future national drug plan should look like, a new survey suggests pharmacare is not at the top of the priority list for most Canadians.

The survey shows that when asked to name their top two health-care priorities, only 18 per cent of those surveyed said the government should prioritize creating a new, universal, single-payer drug plan.

More funding toward surgical wait times, building more long-term care homes and expanding mental-health services all garnered significantly more support, at 36 per cent, 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

“All of that comes before having a universal single-payer drug plan,” said Christian Bourque, Leger's executive vice-president.

“It's not at the top of Canadians' priority list.”

The Leger polling firm conducted the web survey of 1,622 Canadians from Friday to Sunday. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they are not considered truly random samples.

The Liberals promised to pass pharmacare legislation that would serve as the foundation of a national drug plan by the end of 2023, as part of their political pact with the NDP.