By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
In what amounts to a national embarrassment on one side of the coin and a public health failure on the other, Canada has lost its measles elimination status, something it has held for 25 years.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced on Monday morning that it was notified of the development by the 35-member state Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which is both a specialized health agency of the Inter-American System and also serves as Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Canada is currently experiencing a large, multi-jurisdictional outbreak of measles that began in October 2024 with cases in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.
PAHO’s Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year.
The PHAC notes that while transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities. Alberta and Ontario have led the cases with 1,946 and 2,393 cases reported in 2025 respectively. BC has registered 336 over the same period.
Overall, a total of 5,138 cases were reported as of October 25, more than double the number recorded in the past 25 years combined. At least 375 people have been hospitalized and two deaths have been reported, one from Alberta, the other from Ontario, in babies born prematurely after their mothers contracted measles while pregnant.
Of those infected, 88 per cent were unvaccinated; two per cent had one dose of the two-dose vaccine; five per cent had two or more doses; and the status of the remainder is unknown.
Health Canada said it is collaborating with the PAHO and working with federal, provincial, territorial, and community partners “to implement coordinated actions-focused on improving vaccination coverage, strengthening data sharing, enabling better overall surveillance efforts, and providing evidence-based guidance.”
In October 2025, Health Ministers from across the country were briefed on the status of measles in Canada and committed to working together and discussing coordinated actions, including strategies to build trust through community engagement. Ministers also acknowledged the importance of health security to collectively protect Canada against public health threats.
Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status once transmission of the measles strain associated with the current outbreak is interrupted for at least 12 months. Health Canada urges that by “staying vigilant and working together to increase measles vaccine coverage,” outbreaks can be prevented and communities can be kept safe against this preventable disease.
