Tobacco industry settlement funds
Background
The recent settlement agreement between all provinces/territories and the tobacco industry was approved on March 6, 2025
Collectively, the provinces will receive $24 billion over the next 20 years, with a year-one “upfront” payment of $6.3 billion. There are no restrictions on how governments can use the settlement funds. Unless pressured, it is unlikely that any money will be allocated to tobacco or vaping control activities and measures. However, provincial governments should be morally obligated to allocate a portion of the funds for tobacco control, smoking cessation and to compensate Canadians injured by cigarette smoke.
If we want compensation specifically for COPD patients WE MUST ACT NOW
Smoking tobacco cigarettes is the major cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and has injured hundreds of thousands of Canadians
This settlement does nothing to address current and future harms or costs resulting from the tobacco industry In fact, the agreement contains no tobacco control measures or industry restructuring requirements
Opportunity and Need
It is crucial for provincial coalitions and their partners to convince governments to invest some settlement funds to finance and expand tobacco control efforts in their jurisdictions. This investment would help mitigate the enormous harm caused by the tobacco industry and address the blatant exclusions from the settlement agreement.
This effort is even more urgent given that provincial funding and capacity for tobacco control have declined substantially in the last 10-15 years. The settlement funds provide an opportunity to restore and enhance funding, capacity and effective interventions. This would help provinces meet or exceed the national target of reducing tobacco use prevalence to less than 5% by 2035 and redress the youth vaping epidemic.
Provincial tobacco control coalitions and their partners need to mobilize quickly to ensure that a portion of the settlement funds are invested in tobacco control and that funds be set aside to compensate people who have been injured as a direct result of smoking cigarettes over many years.
Suggested Actions
Write to your provincial Health Minister, Finance Minister and/or Premier urging their governments to invest a portion of the proceeds in tobacco control and COPD patient compensation. Be sure to request a meeting in your letter.
• Write a persuasive guest column (op-ed) for your major daily newspapers and online news sources
• Request meetings with your government’s tobacco control or public health officials and ask them to support your efforts to increase/restore tobacco control funding. They can play a significant role in securing political support.
• Request meetings with supportive MLAs/MPPs/MNAs who can champion your cause internally—especially those involved with healthcare decisions.
• Stage a news conference in your provincial capital. World No-Tobacco Day is May 31, 2025, but any suitable day will work. Pick a date when your legislative assembly is in session and invite the press gallery to attend.
Key messages
Well-invested tobacco control funding will help to mitigate current and future harms as well as costs resulting from tobacco use. The settlement agreement only addresses a portion of past damages and does not allow for meaningful compensation for victims of tobacco smoke.
• The settlement agreement allows tobacco companies to continue operating in a “business as usual” manner. Governments now have an additional responsibility to hold the industry accountable for its actions.
• The entire premise of the tobacco lawsuits was to hold the industry to account, to curtail its harmful behaviour and to compensate victims of cigarette smoking. Tobacco control funding has declined significantly in most provinces over the past years, however, tobacco use remains the leading cause of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), lung and throat cancer, and premature death in Canada.
• Tobacco control is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health measures available. Provincial and territorial governments can use their settlement funds to make a generational investment in tobacco control that can reap tremendous rewards, including future savings in healthcare costs and the avoidance of tobacco related disease.
Follow-up
Keep your national association (exec.copdcanada@gmail.com) or provincial coalitions apprised of any tobacco settlement related developments. Some general funding decisions have already been made in several provinces (e.g., cancer treatment and prevention).
Information about the Pan-Canadian Claimants’ (PCC) Compensation Plan
THE COURT HAS APPROVED THE PCC PLANS.
The claims process will not begin right away, as some procedural, noticing, and implementation activities must first take place.Those who have registered for updates will receive updates by email. To register and sign up for email updates, please click here.
Are you a smoker or former smoker in Canada, or do you represent someone who smoked? If yes, the PCC Compensation Plan applies to anyone who:
- lives in any Province or Territory within Canada,
- was alive on March 8, 2019,
- smoked Twelve Pack-Years of cigarettes (i.e. at least 87,600 cigarettes) sold by the Canadian Tobacco Companies between January 1, 1950 and November 20, 1998,
- And was diagnosed in Canada with either Lung Cancer, Throat Cancer or Emphysema/COPD (GOLD Grades III or IV), between March 8, 2015 and March 8, 2019 (inclusive of those dates).
Individuals who meet all these criteria (“PCC Eligibility Criteria”) may be eligible to receive money from the PCC Compensation Plan. Official information regarding compensation of victims under the settlement can be found at these two websites:
https://www.tobaccoclaimscanada.ca/en
https://www.recourstabac.com/en/plan/
Media statements from Health Ministers
British Columbia March 6 Statement from Premier David Eby
“While no amount of money will ever bring lost loved ones back or fully compensate for the harm done, this agreement ensures there are real consequences for corporate wrongdoing and will provide essential resources for public-health initiatives in B.C.” - David Eby.
Alberta January 20 article from the Calgary Herald:
“While we are pleased to see progress being made, it is too early to speak to the content of the proposed settlement,” a statement from Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office reads.
North West Territories March 14 CBC news story
Health Minister Lesa Semmler says the territory will use the funds to "enhance the efficiency of our health care system" and to support preventative care. She says the N.W.T. already runs education campaigns on the dangers of smoking, restricts smoking locations, has advertising bans, labels on health risks and increased taxes to reduce smoking rates. Smoking rates in the N.W.T. have dropped by nearly 20 per cent in the last two decades, with 46 per cent of residents reporting smoking in 2002 and 28 per cent in 2023. "Our goal remains to bring that number to zero," Semmler said.
Saskatchewan March 10 statement from the Government of Saskatchewan
"Our government is pleased with the decision made in Ontario last week," Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. "These funds will support our ongoing cancer care and prevention efforts for the people of our province." The Government of Saskatchewan remains committed to supporting prevention, cessation, and enforcement of tobacco, nicotine and vapour products, particularly regarding youth.
March 17 CJME news story
Saskatchewan will receive around $700 million after the ruling, which brings a resolution to efforts to recover funds for the provincial healthcare system from tobacco companies that have sold cigarettes in Canada. Tobacco companies will be required to pay out a total of $32.5 billion in the compensation plan, which constitutes the largest resolution of its kind in Canadian history, and the third largest ever anywhere in the world. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said: “The government will be investing this money in treatments for individuals suffering from smoking-related illnesses and toward hospitals and ERs.”
Manitoba March 7 article from the Winnipeg Free Press:
A spokesperson for Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the money will be used to pay for cancer treatment.
“Every single dollar that comes to Manitoba as part of this settlement will go towards fighting cancer so more Manitobans can hear those four magic words: you are cancer free,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Nunavut March 7 statement from Nunavut Minister of Health. These funds will:
- Strengthen healthcare services, with Nunavut receiving $97 million—$23 million upfront and the remainder over time.
- Provide compensation to individuals affected by smoking-related illnesses through a court-monitored third-party organization.
- Support research into smoking-related diseases.
- Hold tobacco companies accountable for their past actions.
Nova Scotia March 19 Statement from Health and Wellness Minister in the Legislative Assembly:
I do want to reassure Nova Scotians that that money - we were very pleased with the amount that we received as a result of that pan-Canadian settlement. It certainly will go into our general revenues. We spend over $6 billion annually on health care in this province. We look right from prenatal to death. We look at specific clinics, ways we can screen, all of those things. That money will go in and go right back into health care. We know that money is never going to change the harms that have been caused by these tobacco companies: loss of life and illness. We work every day to improve access and care. I understand there's a bill on the paper right now about this matter. Certainly, I look forward to discussing it later.
Prince Edward Island March 12 statement from Minister of Health and Wellness Mark McLane
We continue to take action by expanding public education on the dangers of smoking, strengthening programs to help Islanders quit smoking, increasing access to treatment and screening programs, enforcing restrictions on where smoking is permitted, and banning tobacco advertising and marketing.
April 17 CBC News story
Minister of Justice and Public Safety Bloyce Thompson says the settlement money “is designated for the health-care system to help deal with the situations from smoking over the years. It will be a great help to our health-care system and there is a way that individuals can apply for some money. Minister of Health and Wellness Mark McLane: McLane says the settlement funds would also be used to enhance programs such as the smoking cessation program. McLane responded that the province is using the extra funding for preventative measures, including improvements to the smoking cessation program available through Island pharmacies.
Newfoundland & Labrador April 14 VOCM news story
What this province will receive remains to be seen, but the funds, when they start flowing, will be welcomed says Minister Bernard Davis. “Any opportunity we can (get) to inject settlement money into our provincial coffers is a good day. We’re going to continue to work very hard on other (law)suits that we’re working through,” Minister Bernard Davis told reporters. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s going to be a number of years to be paid out, so we’re excited about that revenue coming into the province, and it will be put to good use.”
Canada 1950 - 1989
We know the tobacco advertising that surrounded us, drowned us, as children and adults. We were there. And, as if addicting all of the men in the country wasn't enough, the tobacco industry launched Virginia Slims. To grab the girls and women as well.
In 1989, Canada enacted the Tobacco Products Control Act, banning all tobacco advertising. This ban applied to all forms of advertising, including print, broadcast as well as sponsorships. The law also mandated that health warnings appear on all tobacco product packaging.
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