LeBlanc made the remarks just hours before Trump signed an executive order to prioritize domestic distribution of COVID-19 vaccines over their shipments to foreign countries.
"We are very confident that Pfizer and other vaccine makers, that are contractually obligated to deliver doses to Canada, will be able to meet those obligations," LeBlanc said on Tuesday.
The minister explained that Canada’s contractual terms stipulate the vaccine may be delivered from a range of production sites, including Europe, and reassured Canadians that the first deliveries will begin in days.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that Canada will receive up to 249,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses developed by Pfizer and BioNTech before the end of December, which will allow up to 124,500 Canadians to be vaccinated before the end of the year.
UPDATE ON VACCINES: Canada has secured an agreement with Pfizer to begin early delivery of doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. We’re scheduled to receive up to 249,000 of our initial doses this month, with millions more on the way.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 7, 2020
Vaccine delivery is conditional on regulatory approval from Health Canada, although the prime minister said that emergency authorization is expected later this week.
