Canada has officially lost its measles-free status the Public Health Agency of Canada announced Monday (Nov. 10).
The Pan American Health Organization has notified the agency that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status.
The health organization added that its Measles and Rubella Elimination Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed that recent epidemiological and laboratory data confirmed sustained transmission of the same measles strain in Canada for a period of more than a year.
Canada is currently experiencing a large, multi-jurisdictional measles outbreak that began in October 2024, with cases in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
The statement says that transmission of measles has slowed recently, but the outbreak has persisted for more that 12 months, “primarily within the under-vaccinated communities.”
It adds that health ministers from across Canada were briefed on the status of measles in October.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has had a weekly surveillance and dashboard publicly available since March 21, 2025. It was most recently updated Nov. 10.
In 2025, there have been more than 5,162 measles cases across the country, with 4,800 confirmed and 362 probable. No rubella cases have been reported in Canada during this outbreak.
Ontario has reported the most cases at 2,393, followed by Alberta at 1,946 cases, B.C. at 336, Manitoba at 262, Saskatchewan at 107, Nova Scotia at 62, Quebec at 36, New Brunswick at 16, Prince Edward Island at three and Northwest Territories with one. Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut and Yukon have not reported any cases.
There have been two deaths reported: one from Alberta and one from Ontario. The public health agency said both were congenital cases, who were born pre-term.
The health agency says its collaborating with the Pan American Health Organization, and working with federal, provincial and territorial partners to “implement coordinated actions.” That includes a focus on improving vaccination coverage, strengthening data sharing, enabling better overall surveillance efforts, and providing evidence-based guidance.
The statement also encourages people to get vaccinated against measles, with the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine.