Canada is a recognized anchor donor of the Vaccine Alliance- leading global efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment and reduce the burden of infectious diseases through vaccination. Gavi’s immunisation strategy was further supported by Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency priorities: immunisation impacts on girls and boys, families, and economies. This approach is foundational to equitable growth and jobs, mitigating the health impacts of climate change, and building resilient systems and vaccine stockpiles to both prevent and respond to global health security threats.

Since 2002 Canada has invested over CAD 1 billion through Gavi and is a founding donor of the Pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Between 2002 and 2010 Canada contributed USD 277 million to Gavi including USD 152 million (CAD 188 million) in direct contributions and USD 125 million through the AMC. Canada’s total commitment to the AMC is USD 200 million.

In 2011, as part of Gavi’s first Replenishment, Canada pledged CAD 65 million in direct contributions to Gavi for 2011-2015. In 2013, Canada confirmed a direct grant of CAD 20 million for Gavi’s Measles Supplementary Immunisation Activities (MSIA) programme. In 2014, Canada contributed two additional CAD 20 million grants, respectively to support the Vaccine Alliance’s Immunisation Supply Chain Strategy and francophone countries’ immunisation activities – these contributions were made in line with the Muskoka Initiative.

In the lead-up to Gavi’s second Replenishment, Canada pledged CAD 500 million to Gavi to support immunization in development countries for the period 2016-2020, more than doubling the nation’s previous total contributions. Building upon this commitment a further CAD 20 million was pledged in January 2015 and has been allocated to Gavi’s innovation accelerator, INFUSE, for Francophone Africa. This commitment makes Canada the leading donor to INFUSE- underscoring the administration’s leadership in innovation.

On May 2020, in the lead to the Global Vaccine Summit, Canada pledged CAD 600 million to support Gavi’s efforts to deliver life-saving vaccines to children in the world’s poorest countries. This support arrived as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immunisation services in the poorest countries across the world. Canada’s commitment and global response to the pandemic was further accentuated through their CAD 440 million pledge to Gavi’s COVAX AMC to develop and deploy equitable distribution of effective and safe vaccines to middle- and lower-income countries.  In addition, Canada has committed CAD 75 million for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines; CAD 5 million will support the design and operationalization of the COVAX dose sharing mechanism.

At the G7 Summit in Cornwall 2021, hosted by the UK as President of the G7, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada would donate over 40 million doses via COVAX committing to help everyone, everywhere recover from the pandemic and strengthen health systems.