INDU Committee Report
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Appendix B
Tables 1 and 2 provide an overview of the funding announced and granted for COVID-19 initiatives. The contracts signed by the Government of Canada with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are not publicly available, but in its report on COVID-19 vaccines, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada explained that it had “used publicly available information and unclassified information to estimate that at 31 May 2022, the average cost of 1 dose was approximately $30, excluding taxes.” The report also notes that, between 1 January 2020 and 31 May 2022, “the Government of Canada had spent approximately $5 billion on vaccines for the 169 million doses paid for between December 2020 and May 2022.”
Table 1—Overview of Investments Announced by the Government of Canada in the Biomanufacturing, Vaccine and Therapeutics Ecosystem, 2020 to 2022
Program/Agency Through Which the Funding Was Committed |
Initiative |
Date |
Funding Announced ($) |
Regional Development Agencies |
Funding committed to IMV (Dartmouth) through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to support the pre-clinical activities necessary to meet the requirements for a clinical trial application to Health Canada. |
July 2020 |
1 million |
Regional Development Agencies |
Funding committed through Western Economic Diversification Canada to the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) to accelerate development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate and enhance its vaccine manufacturing facilities to the good manufacturing practices standards required for human vaccines. |
11 December 2020 |
35 million |
Regional Development Agencies |
Funding committed through Western Economic Diversification Canada to VIDO to support the development of its vaccine candidates and expand its facility in Saskatoon. |
23 April 2021 |
59.2 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Funding committed through NRC for its Pandemic Response Challenge program to fast-track research and development aimed at accelerating the development of diagnostic tools and medical countermeasures. |
23 March 2020 |
15 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Funding committed through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) and Innovative Solutions Canada to fund COVID-19 specific challenges. |
23 March 2020 |
15 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Construction of a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant clinical trial material facility at its Royalmount site in Montreal. |
23 March and 23 April 2020 |
44 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Construction of the Biologics Manufacturing Centre at its Royalmount site in Montreal. |
31 August 2020 |
126 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Funding and advisory services through NRC IRAP to help advance the early-stage research and development of six vaccine candidates and seven therapeutics candidates, as follows: Vaccine candidates
Therapeutic Candidates
|
23 October 2020 |
37 million |
National Research Council of Canada |
Funding committed through stage 2 NRC IRAP funding to help the most promising of the stage 1 funding recipients advance to the next phase of clinical developments. |
16 March 2021 |
Up to 113 million |
Canada Foundation for Innovation |
Operation funding to support COVID-19 research to the University of Saskatchewan’s VIDO. |
March 2020 |
Over 11 million |
Canada Foundation for Innovation |
Funding committed to cover the urgent need for equipment for ongoing research related to COVID-19 for 79 research infrastructure projects at 52 universities and research hospitals, colleges, polytechnics and CEGEPs across Canada. |
6 November 2020 |
Over 27.6 million |
Canada Foundation for Innovation |
Funding to support the bio-science capital and infrastructure needs of post-secondary institutions and research hospitals. |
Budget 2021 |
500 million over four years, beginning in 2021–2022 |
Strategic Innovation Fund |
Funding for coronavirus research and medical countermeasures from the Plan to Mobilize Science |
23 March 2020 |
192 million |
Strategic Innovation Fund |
Funding to support COVID-19 vaccine and therapy clinical trials led by the private sector, and for Canadian bio-manufacturing opportunities as part of the Plan to Mobilize Science:
|
Between 2020 and 2021 |
600 million |
Strategic Innovation Fund |
Funding committed to Sanofi Pasteur Limited (Toronto) to support building an end-to-end influenza vaccine manufacturing facility. |
31 March 2020 |
Up to 415 million |
Strategic Innovation Fund |
Funding for promising domestic life sciences and bio-manufacturing firms. |
Budget 2021 |
1 billion over seven years starting in 2021–2022 |
Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster |
Funding committed to IMV (Dartmouth) to advance clinical development of its vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. |
August 2020 |
2.5 million |
Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster |
Funding committed to Providence Therapeutics and Northern RNA to expand their operations in Calgary to design and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. |
21 January 2021 |
Up to 5 million |
Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster |
Funding committed to a project led by OmniaBio Inc. (Hamilton) and partners ExCellThera (Montreal), Morphoccell Technologies (Montreal), Aspect Biosystems (Vancouver) and CATTI (Montreal). |
September 2022 |
10.5 million |
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) |
Funding committed through CIHR to support 47 research teams from across Canada that will focus on accelerating the development, testing, and implementation of measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. |
6 March 2020 |
Nearly 27 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR for research projects that will accelerate the development, testing and implementation of medical and social countermeasures to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 as well as its social and health impacts. |
23 April 2020 |
114.9 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR for 100 research projects across the country, followed in June 2020 by an additional investment of $111.1 million to support a further 140 research projects. |
25 June 2020 |
55.3 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through NSERC, in collaboration with SSHRC and CIHR, to leverage the expertise of researchers in natural sciences and engineering and their partners across Canada to address this unprecedented crisis. This investment will support nearly 370 COVID-19 research projects, including work related to vaccines. |
5 August 2020 |
Over 19 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR in 52 research projects to further improve our understanding of COVID-19 and tackle persistent evidence gaps. |
12 March 2021 |
25.2 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR to scale up the Canadian arm of the Solidarity trial named Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO). |
28 May 2020 |
3.5 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR to create a COVID-19 Knowledge Synthesis Network support collaboration and rapid response to the need for synthesized Canadian knowledge and evidence across the full breadth of Canada’s COVID-19 pandemic response. |
13 January 2021 |
1 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR to create the Canadian Network of COVID-19 Clinical Trials Networks. |
20 January 2021 |
6 million |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through CIHR to scale up research to increase our understanding of emerging variants, support research coordination in Canada and with partners globally, and provide decision makers with rapid guidance regarding drug therapy, vaccine effectiveness, and other public health strategies. |
February 2021 |
Up to 25 million in the 2020–2021 fiscal year |
CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC |
Funding committed through the new Canadian Institutes of Health Research Clinical Trials Fund. |
Budget 2021 |
250 million over three years, starting in 2021–2022 |
Source : Table prepared by the Library of Parliament using data from: Government of Canada, Backgrounder – Government of Canada investments in the biomanufacturing, vaccine and therapeutics ecosystem.
Table 2—Estimated Expenditures by COVID-19 Measure
COVID-19 Measure |
2020–2021 |
2021–2022 |
2022–2023 |
Safe Restart Agreement Federal Investments in Testing, Contact Tracing, and Data Management |
$533.26 M |
$578.01 M |
$163 M |
Procurement of vaccine and personal protective equipment |
N/A |
N/A |
$694.06 M |
Canada Emergency Response Benefit Administration Costs |
$309.38 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Consular Assistance for Canadians Abroad |
$56.50 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for Small Businesses |
$2.15 B |
N/A |
N/A |
Helping our Health Care Systems Recover |
N/A |
$4.00 B |
N/A |
Financial Relief for First Nations through the First Nations Finance Authority |
$17.10 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Improving Ventilation in Schools and Community Buildings – Safe Return to Class Fund |
N/A |
N/A |
$100.00 M |
Enhancing Digital Access to our Heritage |
N/A |
N/A |
$8.20 M |
Indigenous Public Health Investments |
$387.43 M |
$504.52 M |
N/A |
Improving Ventilation in Public Buildings |
N/A |
N/A |
$15.60 M |
Enhancing Public Health Measures in Indigenous Communities |
$278.98 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Enhancing Digital Access to our Heritage |
N/A |
$2.4 M |
N/A |
Improving Food Security |
N/A |
$131.13 M |
N/A |
Improving Ventilation in Public Buildings |
N/A |
$24.20 M |
$11.00 M |
Improving our ability to reach Canadians |
N/A |
$15.79 M |
$12.60 M |
Additional COVID-19 Therapeutics Procurement |
N/A |
$89.90 M |
$1.57 B |
Additional PPE Procurement and Support for the Storage and Warehousing of PPE |
N/A |
$731.43 M |
$83.96 M |
Supporting Indigenous Post-secondary Education during COVID-19 |
N/A |
$25.36 M |
N/A |
Supporting the Ongoing Delivery of Key Benefits |
$17.80 M |
$4.43 M |
N/A |
Supporting Canadians struggling with Substance Use Disorder |
N/A |
$23.91 M |
$20.28 M |
Supporting Distress Centres, the Wellness Together Canada Portal |
$41.72 M |
$7.21 M |
$6.25 M |
Supporting Indigenous Communities in the Fight Against COVID-19 |
$1.03 B |
$740.09 M |
$223.95 M |
Supporting Provincial and Territorial Job Training Efforts as Part of COVID-19 Economic Recovery |
$1.50 B |
N/A |
N/A |
Supporting Public Health Measures in Correctional Institutions |
$155.79 M |
$15.03 M |
N/A |
Supporting Canada’s Arts, Heritage, and Cultural Workers and Institutions |
N/A |
$224.07 M |
$111.77 M |
Ensuring Access to Canada Revenue Agency Call Centres |
$127.24 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Bio-Manufacturing Capacity Expansion – National Research Council Royalmount Facility |
$43.47 M |
$62.14 M |
$25.67 M |
Advertising Campaign: Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan |
$10.00 M |
N/A |
N/A |
COVID-19 Communications and Marketing |
$43.07 M |
$25.99 M |
N/A |
Essential Workers Wage Top-up |
$2.88 B |
N/A |
N/A |
New Horizons for Seniors Program Expansion |
$19.97 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Safe Restart Agreement |
$15.88 B |
$1.59 M |
$1.52 M |
Extension of the Mandatory Isolation Support for Temporary Foreign Workers Program |
N/A |
$10.03 M |
N/A |
Canada Revenue Agency Funding for COVID-19 Economic Measures |
$242.90 M |
$190.87 M |
$139.87 M |
Funding for Personal Protective Equipment and Supplies |
$1.80 B |
N/A |
N/A |
Funding for VIA Rail Canada Inc. |
$90.43 M |
$67.43 M |
N/A |
Regional Relief and Recovery Fund |
$1.87 B |
$314.91 M |
N/A |
Granville Island Emergency Relief Fund |
$10.44 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Emergency Community Support Fund |
$349.70 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Emissions Reduction Fund for the Oil and Gas Sector |
$31.71 M |
$134.99 M |
$13.82 M |
COVID-19 Response Fund |
$430.46 M |
$52.75 M |
$27.58 M |
Safe Return to Class |
$2.00 B |
N/A |
N/A |
Strategic Innovation Fund |
N/A |
$8.94 M |
$17.88 M |
Personal Support Worker Training and Other Measures to Address Labour Shortages in Long-Term and Home Care |
$12.73 M |
$24.70 M |
N/A |
Addressing Financial Impacts on Atomic Energy of Canada Limited |
N/A |
$27.60 M |
N/A |
Regional Air Transportation Initiative |
$1.10 M |
$149.72 M |
$10.58 M |
Rapid Housing Initiative |
$870.44 M |
$139.40 M |
N/A |
Quarantine Facilities and COVID-19 Border Measures |
$228.50 M |
$1.21 B |
$352.31 M |
Public Services and Procurement Canada Program Integrity |
N/A |
$16.67 M |
N/A |
Immediate Public Health Response |
$12.50 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Investments in Long-Term Care and other Supportive Care Facilities |
$4.65 M |
$1.01 B |
$359.33 K |
Investing in the Wellness Together Portal |
N/A |
$61.90 M |
N/A |
Addressing the Outbreak of COVID-19 among Temporary Foreign Workers on Farms |
$50.61 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Addressing Gender-Based Violence during COVID-19 |
$48.86 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Maintaining Federal Court Services During COVID-19 |
N/A |
N/A |
$1.88 M |
Health and Social Support for Northern Communities |
$179.60 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Implementing Proof of Vaccination Credentials for International Travel |
N/A |
$18.22 M |
N/A |
Cleaning up Former Oil and Gas Wells |
$1.72 B |
N/A |
N/A |
National Standards for Mental Health Services |
N/A |
$3.50 M |
$41.81 M |
Virtual Care and Mental Health Support |
$137.32 M |
$93.22 M |
N/A |
Canada Student Loan Moratorium |
$2.49 M |
$4.97 M |
N/A |
Canada’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan |
N/A |
$1.00 B |
N/A |
Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
N/A |
$3.88 M |
$2.02 M |
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) |
$65.23 B |
$52.17 M |
$1.78 M |
Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) |
$2.95 B |
$47.81 M |
$402.71 K |
Canada Emergency Student Benefit – Administration Costs |
$17.62 M |
$13.13 M |
$4.94 M |
Canada Recovery Benefits |
$14.47 B |
$13.21 B |
N/A |
Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit |
$419.84 M |
$1.03 B |
$153.31 M |
Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit |
$1.97 B |
$2.34 B |
$138.02 M |
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit |
N/A |
946.13 M |
$16.84 M |
Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Correctional Institutions |
N/A |
$80.17 M |
N/A |
Airports Capital Assistance Program |
N/A |
$74.02 M |
$59.34 M |
Enhancing Student Financial Assistance for Fall 2020 |
$1.35 B |
$614.47 M |
N/A |
Expanding Existing Federal Employment, Skills Development, Student and Youth Programming |
$879.99 M |
$6.47 M |
N/A |
Extending the Canada Emergency Business Account |
N/A |
$76.25 M |
N/A |
Targeted Extension of the Innovation Assistance Program |
$127.29 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Granville Island Emergency Relief Fund Extension |
N/A |
$7.08 M |
N/A |
Innovative Research and Support for New Testing Approaches and Technologies for COVID-19 |
$1.41 M |
$387.19 M |
$34.44 M |
Support for COVID-19 Medical Research and Vaccine Developments |
$239.29 M |
$187.95 M |
$88.99 M |
Labour Market Impact Assessment Refund |
$2.78 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Parks Canada Revenue Replacement and Rent Relief |
$57.29 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Safe Return to School on Reserve |
N/A |
$109.69 M |
N/A |
International COVID-19 Response |
N/A |
$375.00 M |
N/A |
Additional Health Human Resources |
N/A |
$3.69 M |
N/A |
Revitalizing Tourism |
N/A |
$154.89 M |
$322.63 M |
Canadian Digital Service |
$3.59 M |
$6.94 M |
N/A |
Supportive Care in Indigenous Communities |
N/A |
$122.98 M |
$22.95 M |
Support for the Canadian Book Industry |
N/A |
$7.15 M |
$6.62 M |
Supporting the Mental Health of Those Most Affected by COVID-19 |
N/A |
$3.40 M |
$16.02 M |
Support Essential Air Access to Remote Communities |
$68.58 M |
$79.05 M |
$137.96 K |
Supporting Safe Air Travel |
N/A |
$6.65 M |
N/A |
Supporting and Sustaining the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada’s Pandemic Operations |
$132.53 M |
$328.25 M |
N/A |
Supporting Indigenous Economies |
N/A |
$149.49 M |
N/A |
Indigenous Mental Wellness Support |
$82.43 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Supporting Temporary Foreign Workers while they Quarantine |
N/A |
$45.13 M |
N/A |
Support for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / Radio-Canada |
N/A |
$21.00 M |
N/A |
Supporting a Safe Restart in Indigenous Communities |
$314.77 M |
$274.07 K |
N/A |
Support for the Audiovisual Industry |
$795.07 K |
$5.73 M |
N/A |
Support Canada Emergency Response Benefit Program Integrity |
N/A |
$126.08 M |
$63.68 M |
Support for the National Film Board |
$4.74 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Proof of Vaccination |
N/A |
$5.67 M |
N/A |
Support for Safe Operation in the Forest Sector |
$30.08 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for the Federal Bridge Corporation Limited |
$5.76 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada |
$83.74 M |
$699.52 K |
N/A |
Support for Canada’s National Arts Centre |
$18.20 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Economic Development in the North |
N/A |
$2.25 M |
N/A |
Support for the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program |
$262.18 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for the Broadcasting Industry |
$31.59 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Food Banks and Local Food Organizations |
$170.94 M |
$93.93 K |
N/A |
Support for Indigenous Communities |
N/A |
$332.28 M |
N/A |
Support for Local Indigenous Businesses and Economies |
$133.00 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Children and Youth |
$4.20 M |
$4.75 M |
N/A |
Support for Black Entrepreneurs and Business Owners |
N/A |
$37.93 M |
$24.13 M |
Support for Indigenous Businesses and Aboriginal Financial Institutions |
$228.80 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Main Street Businesses |
$7.82 M |
$37.63 M |
N/A |
Support for Food System Firms that hire Temporary Foreign Workers |
$74.04 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Canada’s National Museums (as of 2021–2022, addition of the National Battlefields Commission) |
$25.70 M |
$44.28 M |
$8.05 M |
Supporting Court Operations and Access to Justice |
$70.16 K |
$13.96 M |
N/A |
Support for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations |
$497.87 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Veterans’ Organizations |
$20.00 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for International Partners |
$698.77 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Persons with Disabilities |
$810.30 M |
$33.41 M |
N/A |
Support for the Homeless (through Reaching Home) |
$394.08 M |
$293.81 M |
N/A |
Support for Women’s Shelters and Sexual Assault Centres, including in Indigenous Communities |
$49.96 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Fish and Seafood Processors |
$45.19 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Supporting Workers in the Live Events and Arts Sectors |
N/A |
$174.05 M |
N/A |
Canadian Armed Forces Support for the COVID-19 Response |
$292.37 M |
N/A |
N/A |
PPE and Related Equipment Support for Essential Workers |
$254.22 M |
$68.83 M |
$11.78 M |
Support for the National Capital Commission |
$1.94 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for the Canadian Red Cross |
$99.34 M |
$47.23 M |
N/A |
Support for Canada’s Academic Research Community |
$434.46 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Airport Authorities |
N/A |
$64.81 M |
N/A |
Supporting Canada’s Farmers, Food Businesses, and Food Supply |
$157.52 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Critical Infrastructure at Large Airports |
N/A |
$26.92 M |
$110.69 M |
Support for Fish Harvesters |
$144.82 M |
$41.71 M |
N/A |
Support for Food Inspection Services |
$19.40 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Support for Workers in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Sector |
$320.00 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Further Support for Medical Research and Vaccine Developments |
$3.18 B |
$4.17 B |
$411.93 M |
Women Entrepreneurship Strategy – Ecosystem Top-up |
$15.03 M |
N/A |
N/A |
Rapid Tests |
N/A |
$2.37 B |
$990.66 M |
Vaccine Mandates – Making Travel Safer |
N/A |
N/A |
$11.72 M |
One-Time Payment for seniors eligible for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) |
$2.46 B |
N/A |
N/A |
Total |
$134.85 B |
$40.13 B |
$5.98 B |
Note: For the 2022–2023 fiscal year, data was collected from 1 April 2022 to 28 February 2023.
Source: Table prepared by the Library of Parliament using data from: Government of Canada, Infographic for Government of Canada – COVID‑19.