Public Health Ontario reported Thursday that the province is now up to 1,020 measles cases – an increase of 95 since its last update one week ago.Annie Rice/Reuters
Ontario’s ballooning measles outbreak has surpassed 1,000 cases, a grim milestone just days after Quebec declared its own outbreak to be over.
Public Health Ontario reported Thursday that the province is now up to 1,020 measles cases – an increase of 95 since its last update one week ago. Of those, 884 are confirmed cases, and 136 are classified as probable.
Quebec’s outbreak, which began in December, was declared over this week after reaching 40 cases. Meanwhile, Ontario’s “cases are only going up,” Liberal public-health critic Adil Shamji said in a press conference Thursday.
“The last time that we had an outbreak like this in Canada, Google search hadn’t been invented yet and Brian Mulroney was our prime minister,” said Dr. Shamji, a former emergency room physician.
Canada’s multi-jurisdictional measles outbreak began in October, 2024 with a travel-related case in New Brunswick. This touched off a local outbreak that reached 50 cases before it was declared over in early January.
Linked cases have since emerged in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and Alberta, where health officials have confirmed 129 cases as of Thursday. Measles cases have also been reported this year in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
But Ontario’s measles crisis has far outstripped other jurisdictions in Canada. The province has 10 times more cases than it experienced during the entire decade of 2013-2023.
Cases have now been reported in 15 public-health units across the province. But more than 60 per cent have been in three contiguous health units: Southwestern Public Health, Grand Erie and Huron Perth.
Measles is among the world’s most contagious infectious diseases, capable of spreading when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes. For people who lack immunity – obtained either through vaccination or prior infection – at least 90 per cent of those exposed will become infected.
In Ontario, there have been no reported deaths, but 76 have been hospitalized, with seven in intensive care. All but four were not immunized.
Fifty-three cases are babies under the age of one, who are not yet eligible for their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. In early March, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health recommended an accelerated MMR vaccine schedule for children over six months of age and under four living in communities where measles is spreading.
The safety and efficacy of the MMR vaccine has long been established, but recent years have seen declining vaccination rates alongside a rise in online misinformation, anti-vaccine sentiment and barriers to accessing primary care.
Dr. Shamji said he believes other provinces have had more success controlling measles spread compared with Ontario because their public-health units are more adequately funded and staffed.
The Ontario Liberal public-health critic criticized the Progressive Conservative government’s “failure to act in any meaningful way” in response to the measles crisis and called for the implementation of a five-point strategy released by his party on Thursday.
The strategy includes: launching a catch-up vaccination campaign; millions of dollars in funding for public-health units; putting public health on the legislative agenda; providing the public with regular updates on the measles outbreak; and creating a province-wide educational campaign.
Ema Popovic, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Health Minister, said in an e-mailed statement that the government has increased funding for public-health units by nearly 20 per cent and “made record investments to build healthier communities and support public health units across the province.”
Before the pandemic, Premier Doug Ford was forced to back off from large cuts to public health included in his 2019 budget after an outcry from local politicians in Toronto and elsewhere.
Ms. Popovic also added that the Conservative government and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore “have been clear in our message to people across the province – vaccination is the most effective way to limit the spread of measles and protect yourself and your loved ones.”
With files from Jeff Gray
Editor’s note: (April 25, 2025): A previous version of this article stated that measles can be spread through coughs or sneezes. This version has been updated to specify that measles can spread when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes.
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