Ottawa invested $323 Million in Medicago, Then Told Company its Vaccine Doses Weren’t Needed

Health Minister Mark Holland says other vaccine options had become available by the time Medicago was ready to produce its doses.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 25, 2023. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

The federal government could have maintained its deal with Medicago for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but instead told the manufacturer the doses weren’t needed, Health Minister Mark Holland told MPs.

After Medicago’s Covifenz vaccine was authorized in Canada, “it became clear that we had the doses that we needed,” Mr. Holland told the House of Commons health committee on Dec. 6. “The other vaccines that were available meant that the Medicago ... doses were not required.”