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How a failed deal with China to produce a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine wasted months and millions – CBC.ca

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The federal government’s failed collaboration with a vaccine manufacturing company in China early in the pandemic has led to a delay of nearly two years in efforts to create a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine.

Government documents obtained by The Fifth Estate show that Canadian officials wasted months waiting for a proposed vaccine to arrive from China for further testing and spent millions upgrading a production facility that never made a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) signed an agreement with Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics in early May 2020 to “fast-track the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine in Canada for emergency pandemic use.”

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The CanSino vaccine, which had been created by the scientific research arm of China’s military, was to be shipped to Canada for human trials that May. If successful, the vaccine was to be manufactured at a temporary facility in Montreal that the NRC had committed $44 million to upgrade.

  • WATCH: The Fifth Estate | The Vaccine: What went wrong? on CBC-TV and CBC Gem Thursday at 9 p.m.

The documents reveal that the NRC, the scientific research arm of the Canadian government, was gearing up for production of the vaccine — even before the contract was signed and human trials had started — estimating it could be manufacturing doses by summer 2020.

At first, the NRC would be producing doses for human trials in Canada, then later, according to the contract, “for front-line responders and Canadians as soon as they are available.”

The CanSino-Canada deal was originally hoped to quickly provide vaccines for emergency use by front-line responders. (Leah Hennel/Alberta Health Services)

“Once fully operational, in the event that CanSino proceeds, NRC will be able to produce 70,000 to 100,000 doses per month,” the NRC briefs said.

The NRC asked Dr. Scott Halperin, director of the Canadian Center of Vaccinology in Halifax, to design the clinical trials for CanSino in Canada.

“The NRC and CanSino had previous collaborations well before the pandemic,” Halperin said in an interview with The Fifth Estate. “That was leveraged into a working relationship to say: ‘Can that be expanded for the current crisis?’ “

Vaccine stuck in China

As the months progressed, the documents also show that the NRC was working to increase the number of doses the facility could produce for the public.

But ultimately, the CanSino vaccine would never get to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the deal to Canadians on May 16, 2020. But a federal government memo later that same month reveals the Canadian Embassy in Beijing was still working to get the vaccine cleared by China’s customs.

“CanSino vaccines are still with customs in China,” the memo said. “Embassy has a [meeting] tomorrow. Assuming they get through customs [tomorrow], they can be put on a flight on the 27th.”

But the vaccine candidate was not put on a plane on May 27.

That same day, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou — a high-profile tech executive in China — lost an appeal to the B.C. Supreme Court arguing against her arrest in Canada. Meng had been detained in Vancouver in 2018 on U.S. bank fraud charges.

(Meng was returned to China last month after signing a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office. Shortly after, two Canadians held in prisons in China were allowed to return to Canada.)

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou waves as she steps out of an airplane after arriving at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province on Sept. 25, 2021. Meng signed a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. prosecutors that allowed her to leave Canada for the first time in nearly three years. (Jin Liwang/Xinhua via The Associated Press)

“I was incredulous that the government had chosen to partner with not only CanSino, but with China, after all the things that had happened,” Conservative MP Michael Chong said.

Chong has served as the party’s foreign affairs critic and on the parliamentary committee on Canada-China relations. 

“It was clear by May of 2020 that China was not a reliable partner,” he said.

Michael Chong, a former Conservative foreign affairs critic, has been outspoken regarding national security issues and China’s human rights record. (Joe Fiorino/CBC)

On June 19, 2020, only weeks after Meng lost her court appeal, China accused Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor of espionage. They had already been held in Chinese prisons without charges for more than 500 days.

A war of words ensued between the governments in China and Canada, with officials from each country criticizing the other.

WATCH | McGill professor says connection to China’s army risky:

Security professor doubts customs stopped the vaccine

16 hours ago

Ben Fung, a security researcher with McGill University, tells The Fifth Estate’s Bob McKeown that a partnership with a company closely tied to China’s military would be risky. 0:59

By June 26, NRC bureaucrats acknowledged in briefs that the “shipment of vaccine material has stalled.” 

By early July, the CanSino candidate was still the only vaccine Health Canada had approved for human trials in Canada. NRC officials continued to hope it would arrive later that month.

“CanSino remains very committed to the Canadian clinical trials,” the brief said.

Into August, NRC documents reveal, officials continued working on manufacturing plans, despite the fact that the vaccine candidate had “not yet been approved by Chinese customs for shipment to Canada.”

Customs not the problem

Ben Fung, a security researcher at McGill University in Montreal and an outspoken China critic, said he doubts that customs was the issue, and argued that Canada should have known partnering with CanSino was risky because of the company’s connection to both China’s military and government. 

“So when they say customs is stopping the vaccines, of course this is not the case,” Fung said. “The [Chinese Communist Party] is upper management.”

WATCH | The original plans for the CanSino-Canada vaccine:

The CanSino-Canada vaccine plan

16 hours ago

The Fifth Estate’s Bob McKeown looks at the plans for a CanSino-Canada vaccine partnership by hearing from CanSino’s Canadian scientific adviser, Dr. Luis Barreto, who is a longtime vaccine specialist, and Dr. Scott Halperin, who was hired to run clinical trials for the company. 2:09

At the Center for Vaccinology, Halperin suspected that the project had become wrapped up in the diplomatic tensions between Canada and China. When he saw the vaccine had been shipped to Pakistan and Russia without issue, he knew the vaccine was not coming to Canada.

“Then we knew it wasn’t just the right paperwork and bureaucracy,” Halperin said. “It became clear that that wasn’t the case, but that took another month to two months to finally decide that no, it must be politics. It can’t be anything else.”

The Globe and Mail first reported on Aug. 25, 2020, that the NRC had abandoned its collaboration with CanSino because China wouldn’t let the vaccine doses come to Canada.

WATCH | CanSino’s CEO on why the vaccine didn’t come to Canada:

CanSino CEO on why the vaccine didn’t come to Canada

16 hours ago

Dr. Xuefeng Yu, co-founder of CanSino, says he had hoped to get the vaccine into Canada, the country where his family lives. He tells The Fifth Estate’s Bob McKeown how that unfolded. 1:19

In an interview with The Fifth Estate, CanSino CEO Dr. Xuefeng Yu said he did not know why the vaccine wasn’t allowed to be sent to Canada.

“I don’t work for the government, either side. I really have no clue what’s going on behind the doors of the department of … each country.”

Yu said that by the time the shipment was delayed into August, there was no point proceeding with trials in Canada. By then, CanSino was already in Phase 3 global trials elsewhere.

Millions of doses promised

Trudeau and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains held a media conference at the NRC on Aug. 31, 2020, touting the Montreal lab that had been upgraded to produce the CanSino vaccine.

Even though the federal government no longer had a vaccine partner, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the facility would “enable the preliminary production of 250,000 doses of vaccine per month starting in November 2020.”

However, that facility did not produce 250,000 doses of vaccine in November 2020, or any month since. 

“One would hope that when the prime minister speaks, he knows what he’s talking about and it’s accurate,” NDP MP and health critic Don Davies said in an interview with The Fifth Estate.

“So he either was mistaken or he was misleading, and I think it’s incumbent on him to explain which of those it is. What we do know is that we didn’t produce 250,000 doses in Canada in November in Montreal.”

Don Davies was the NDP health critic when the CanSino vaccine deal was discussed at a parliamentary committee. (Ian Christie/CBC)

To this day, no vaccines have been produced at that NRC facility.

In August 2020, Trudeau also announced that a new NRC lab in Montreal would be producing two million doses a month by mid-2021.

That has also not happened. According to the NRC, vaccines will not be produced there until 2022, at the earliest.

Trudeau, right, alongside Minister for Economic Development Melanie Joly, left, and Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains arrive for a news conference and visit to the National Research Council of Canada Royalmount Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre on Aug. 31, 2020. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

The Prime Minister’s Office did not answer when asked to explain the discrepancy between the promised production numbers and what happened. The prime minister and his ministers also declined interview requests about Canada’s early vaccine production plans, including with the NRC and CanSino.

The NRC has said the U.S.-based vaccine developer Novavax will be its new partner for this facility, but Health Canada has not approved its vaccine yet.

The National Research Council of Canada is adding two manufacturing facilities for vaccines at its campus in Montreal. One will make vaccines for use in clinical trials and the other will produce vaccines for public use. (Vianney Leudiere/Radio-Canada)

The NRC declined interview requests with its officials but provided written responses to questions.

“It was deemed prudent to seize the opportunity to obtain access to CanSino’s vaccine candidate — one of the most advanced at the time,” the NRC said.

The NRC also acknowledged that the failure of the CanSino deal forced it to scrap its original clinical trial manufacturing plans. 

“I think there’s no doubt it has set us back years,” Davies said. “When you’re in a global pandemic, that is deadly, that costs lives.”

CanSino seizes Fifth Estate interview

Yu is proud of CanSino’s COVID-19 vaccine that’s going into millions of arms around the world.

The company CEO sat down with The Fifth Estate for a wide-ranging interview, discussing his roots in Canada’s pharmaceutical industry, his family who still lives in Toronto and his research work with China’s military.

“I see them as collaborators, it’s just a research institute, right?” Yu said.

CanSino Biologics Inc. is headquartered in Tianjin, China, an industrial city southeast of Beijing. The company has a large manufacturing facility and offices at the site. (Tribal Productions Asia)

But when the cameras turned off, he was clearly not happy with how the interview unfolded.

As the CBC freelance camera crew packed up their gear in the CanSino Biologics offices in Tianjin, China, company officials seized the interview recording.

CanSino deleted half of the recording before giving it back 10 days later. Luckily, The Fifth Estate recorded the entire interview from Toronto.

China officials may have denied the CanSino vaccine candidate to Canada, but Canadian scientists and labs are still supporting CanSino’s COVID-19 vaccine, which is being used in at least nine countries.

A health-care worker injects a teacher with a dose of the CanSino COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico City. CanSino’s vaccine has been approved for emergency pandemic use in a handful of countries worldwide. Phase 3 trials are ongoing. (Marco Ugarte/The Associated Press)

The Center for Vaccinology in Halifax continues to work for CanSino, with Halperin running the company’s Phase 3 global trials on a $3.5-million contract.

“That vaccine will likely never come to Canada at this stage. It’s going to be used around the world in other places, but not in Canada,” Halperin said. “I look at this as a part of Canada’s contribution to the global battle against COVID-19.”

  • If you have tips on this or any other story, please contact The Fifth Estate team.

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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Why Canada's record population growth is helping – and hurting – the economy – CTV News

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Canada has recorded the fastest population growth in 66 years, increasing by 1.3 million people, or 3.2 per cent, in 2023, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The country has not seen such growth since 1957, when the spike was attributed to the baby boom and an influx of immigrants fleeing Hungary.

The vast majority of Canada’s growth last year was due to immigration, with temporary residents — which includes foreign workers and international students — making up the largest proportion of newcomers.

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“We need people coming to Canada to help with our economy,” says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of planning at the University of Toronto. “There are many jobs and professions where there are vacancies, and that is having an impact, whether in the healthcare sector or trades and construction sector.”

Siemiatycki adds immigrants also bring “ingenuity… resources… and culture” to Canada.

Newcomers are relied on to help keep pace with Canada’s aging population and declining fertility rates, but the influx also presents a challenge for a country struggling to build the homes and infrastructure needed for immigrants.

“It’s an incredibly large shock for the economic system to absorb because of just the sheer number of people coming into the country in a short period of time,” says Robert Kavcic. a senior economist and director with BMO Capital Markets.

“The reality is population can grow extremely fast, but the supply side of the economy like housing and service infrastructure, think health care and schools, can only catch up at a really gradual pace,” Kavcic says. “So there is a mismatch right now.”

The impact of that mismatch can most acutely be seen in the cost of rent, services and housing.

In December, Kavcic wrote in a note that Canada needs to build 170,000 new housing units every three months to keep up with population growth, noting the industry is struggling to complete 220,000 units in a full year.

To address this, Ottawa has announced plans to cap the number of new temporary residents while also reducing the number of international student visas, a move economists say could offer some relief when it comes to housing and the cost of living.

“The arithmetic on the caps actual works relatively well because it would take us back down to 1 per cent population growth which we have been used to over the last decade and which is more or less absorbable by the economy,” Kavcic says. “The question is whether or not we see policy makers follow through and hit those numbers.”

Economists believe these changes could help ease inflationary pressures and may make a Bank of Canada rate cut more likely, but could also lead to slower GDP growth.

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