Criticism of the Ford government’s response to the measles outbreak in Ontario is ramping up as cases of the infectious virus are too.
The outbreak, which has reached more than 1,200 cases since the fall, was the focus of opposition leaders in the legislature Wednesday, with all party heads calling on Premier Doug Ford and his government to change course.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters Wednesday morning the government was “missing” on the measles front and called on Ford to come out publicly to encourage vaccinations, something she accused the premier of refusing to do.
“Moments like this require leadership. People want to see their leaders speak out and encourage them,” she said.
“They're failing us. They're failing our province.”
Ford told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the government is giving its all to address the measles outbreak, including putting $2 million into ads promoting children’s immunization and sending 150,000 vaccines around the province.
“There's certain communities in Ontario — for religious reasons — (that) are not getting their kids vaccinated. I encourage anyone and everyone: you need to get your kids vaccinated, because if not, it just starts spreading,” he said.
Ontario allows medical and religious belief exemptions for vaccines, including school-aged children.
While public health authorities aim to have 95 per cent of the population vaccinated for measles, recent data shows significant drops in immunization rates. Around 70 per cent of seven-year-olds are fully immunized for measles, according to Public Health Ontario data from 2023-2024.
Ten years earlier, around 94 per cent of seven-year-olds were fully vaccinated for measles, according to Public Health Ontario.
Ford said Wednesday he would not "force" vaccinations on anyone.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said she thinks more should be done to boost immunization rates.
“We should do everything we can to ensure that all of our students are vaccinated,” she said, adding that she believes vaccine avoidance can be addressed with better public education.
She said public health efforts in Alberta are better than those under Ford’s leadership, pointing to the province launching a measles hotline and a public ad campaign.
“They need to plan. They need to have a campaign, much like the province of Alberta has done,” Crombie said.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore told Newstalk 1010 Wednesday afternoon that around two or three per cent of students in public schools have vaccine exemptions and the numbers are higher for private schools.
Moore also said outside some communities in southwestern Ontario where measles is spreading, he believes immunizations are working.
“It is working across Ontario,” he said. “I will absolutely say that we have to continue to work with these communities that have low vaccination rates.”
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones told reporters Wednesday that she believes efforts to boost childhood vaccination rates are working and said “we need the population” that can get the vaccine “to make a difference” for those who can’t.
She wouldn’t say whether the province had plans to change its approach to the outbreak.
“Sufficient supplies of vaccines for measles was given and is available,” she said. “There is no shortage. So the education and the work that our public health units is doing is critically important in those communities that are experiencing those outbreaks.”
“If the plan is working, why does Ontario have the largest outbreak in all of North America?” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. “Come on, be honest with people.”
He told reporters that potentially closing Ontario’s vaccine exemptions should be a decision made by public health officials.
“What I would like the government to do is to come out with a clear plan on how we're going to deal with this outbreak, and a plan that informs the public that the vaccine is effective and safe.”
The next Ontario Public Health report tracking measles infection is expected Thursday. The May 1 surveillance report showed 223 new measles cases since April 23.
