Measles Statistics in Canada 2026 | Cases, Deaths, Provinces & Facts

Measles in Canada 2026

Measles in Canada describe a country still working through the aftermath of losing its measles elimination status, a designation Canada had held since 1998. As of July 18, 2026, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) had recorded 1,107 measles cases for the year, a fraction of the record-breaking 5,355 cases logged in 2025, but still enough to keep the virus actively circulating in multiple provinces. The outbreak that triggered the elimination-status loss began in New Brunswick in October 2024 and has since moved through Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Quebec, disproportionately affecting unvaccinated communities, including certain Mennonite congregations.

Public health officials say the 2026 case count, while dramatically lower than 2025’s surge, is not yet a return to normal. Manitoba has emerged as the epicentre of this year’s transmission, while smaller, contained outbreaks in Quebec have already run their course. This article breaks down the latest verified Measles Statistics in Canada 2026 — covering national case counts, provincial breakdowns, deaths, hospitalizations, and Canada’s ongoing elimination-status recovery — using data from PHAC, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and provincial health authorities.

Interesting Facts About Measles Statistics in Canada 2026

Data Source: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), World Health Organization (WHO)

The 1,107 cases recorded through mid-July 2026 mark a substantial decline from the extraordinary 5,355-case total of 2025, yet the comparison undersells how serious Canada’s measles situation remains. The two deaths linked to the outbreak — both infants born prematurely after their mothers contracted measles during pregnancy — underscore that even a receding case count carries real clinical stakes for the most vulnerable populations. With 95% of Canada’s 2025 and 2026 cases tied to the same multijurisdictional outbreak strain, genotype D8, the virus has proven remarkably persistent across provincial borders.

The loss of elimination status on November 10, 2025, was not a symbolic formality. PAHO’s rules require 12 consecutive months without sustained transmission before a country can reclaim the designation, meaning the earliest possible date for Canada to regain elimination status is November 2027, and PAHO officials caution that even that timeline may prove optimistic given the ongoing case activity in Manitoba and periodic imported clusters in Ontario and Quebec.

Measles Cases in Canada by Year Statistics 2026

Data Source: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Measles and Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report

Measles Cases in Canada by Year (approx.)
1998-2024 avg |#                                   |    91
2024          |##                                  |   146
2025          |####################################| 5,355
2026 (YTD Jul)|########                            | 1,107

The scale of the 2025 surge becomes clear when set against Canada’s own historical baseline: the 5,355 cases reported in 2025 dwarf the 91-case annual average maintained between 1998 and 2024, representing roughly a 59-fold increase over the historical norm. Even the previous high-water mark of 751 cases in 2011 looks modest by comparison. The 2026 trajectory shows the outbreak decelerating but not disappearing — cases climbed from 67 in early January to 907 by late April and 1,107 by mid-July, a pace that, while far below 2025’s explosive growth, still adds new infections most weeks.

This slower-but-persistent 2026 pattern matters because measles requires only a small number of unvaccinated, clustered individuals to reignite transmission. Readers wanting the fuller US-side picture of how elimination status is measured and what a similar outbreak trajectory looks like south of the border can consult our Measles Elimination Status Statistics in US report, which tracks the parallel — and, as of mid-2026, still-unresolved — risk facing the United States.

Canada’s Measles Elimination Status Statistics in 2026

Data Source: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Path to Canada Regaining Measles Elimination Status
Status Lost                   Nov 2025 |#
12-month clean period needed           |################
Earliest Reinstatement        Nov 2027 |################################

Canada’s elimination status loss in November 2025 made it the first country in the Americas region to lose the designation since the COVID-19 pandemic, a distinction that PAHO officials and Canadian public health experts have described as a genuine setback rather than a bureaucratic technicality. The requirement that a country demonstrate 12 uninterrupted months without transmission of the same virus strain before regaining status means Canada’s soonest possible reinstatement is November 2027, and historical precedent across the Americas suggests the actual timeline often runs closer to 24 months past outbreak interruption — a bar Canada has not yet cleared given ongoing 2026 transmission in Manitoba.

The situation is not unique to Canada. Both the United States and Mexico were flagged by PAHO as at risk of losing their own elimination status when the commission meets again, and the World Health Organization confirmed in January 2026 that six additional countries — Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan — had already lost elimination status based on 2024 data. For a detailed look at how declining childhood immunization coverage is driving this trend across North America, see our Childhood Vaccine Statistics in US report, which documents MMR coverage falling below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity in multiple US states.

Measles Cases by Province in Canada 2026

Data Source: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Doctors Manitoba

Approx. Share of 2026 National Measles Cases by Province
Manitoba        |########################| ~62%
British Columbia|##########              | ~25% (2025-26 combined)
Ontario/Quebec  |######                  | remainder

The provincial breakdown for 2026 shows a striking shift from the 2025 pattern, when Ontario and Alberta were the epicentres, each logging more than 2,000 cases over the course of the year. In 2026, Manitoba has taken over as the country’s clear hotspot, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all national cases, with cumulative totals reaching 608 confirmed and 79 probable cases by early August. The province’s outbreak spread to every health region, including a first case confirmed in Northern Manitoba at the end of April, before beginning a sharp decline — falling from 177 confirmed and 34 probable cases in February, the province’s single worst month, to just 2 confirmed cases in July, a roughly 98% drop.

Quebec’s experience illustrates how the outbreak can flare and resolve in short, contained bursts: its most recent cluster, the fourth since 2024, produced just 28 cases before being declared over on August 3, 2026, following the required 32-day period without a new contagious case. British Columbia’s cumulative total of 427 confirmed and probable cases spanning 2025 and 2026 shows the outbreak’s staying power there as well, with 91% of all BC cases traced directly to the same multijurisdictional strain that began in New Brunswick.

Manitoba Measles Outbreak Statistics in Canada 2026

Data Source: Doctors Manitoba, CBC News (Manitoba)

Manitoba Monthly Confirmed Cases (2026 approx.)
February |########################| 177
July     |#                       |   2

Manitoba’s trajectory in 2026 is the single clearest illustration of how quickly a measles outbreak can both explode and recede once public health measures take hold. The province’s February peak of 177 confirmed cases represented its worst monthly total in decades, prompting Manitoba to expand vaccine access by authorizing pharmacists to administer measles vaccines to people aged 2 to 19 starting March 31, 2026. That intervention, combined with intensive contact tracing, appears to have contributed to the dramatic 98% decline by July, when the province logged just 2 confirmed and 1 probable case.

Despite this steep drop-off, Manitoba’s cumulative 2026 total of 608 confirmed and 79 probable cases still accounts for nearly two-thirds of all cases reported nationally this year, a concentration that reflects the outbreak’s continued circulation within specific under-vaccinated communities even as the overall trend improves. The spread to Northern Manitoba in late April, a region with historically limited healthcare access, was a particular concern for provincial officials monitoring whether the virus could establish itself in areas with weaker surveillance infrastructure.

Measles Deaths and Hospitalization Statistics in Canada 2026

Data Source: Alberta Health, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)

Confirmed Measles Deaths in Canada Since Oct. 2024
Total |##                      | 2 deaths (both infants)

The human cost of Canada’s outbreak, while limited in absolute numbers, has been concentrated among the most vulnerable. Both confirmed deaths involved premature infants born to unvaccinated mothers who contracted measles during pregnancy — the first reported in June 2025 and the second confirmed in Alberta in October 2025. Alberta’s health minister was explicit in attributing the second death directly to measles, while noting that the earlier June case involved additional medical complications that made causation harder to isolate. No new deaths have been publicly confirmed since, and British Columbia specifically reports zero measles-associated deaths across both 2025 and 2026.

Hospitalization data, while less centrally tracked than case counts, points to real strain on the healthcare system during peak outbreak periods: Ontario alone recorded 69 hospitalizations, including 4 patients in intensive care, during a single stretch of its 2025 outbreak. With an estimated 88% to 95% of all cases involving unvaccinated individuals, public health officials continue to frame vaccination coverage — rather than treatment capacity — as the central lever for reducing both future case counts and the risk of additional fatalities. For readers tracking how vaccine exemption trends are shaping outbreak risk more broadly across North America, our Vaccine Exemption Statistics in US report documents the parallel rise in non-medical exemptions driving similar vulnerabilities in the United States.

Canada vs United States Measles Statistics 2026

Data Source: Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO)

2026 Measles Case Comparison (as of ~mid-late July)
Canada |####################                    | 1,107
US     |########################################| 2,371

Despite having roughly one-tenth the population of the United States, Canada’s 1,107 confirmed 2026 cases put it at almost exactly half the US total of 2,371 cases as of late July, a comparison the World Health Organization has highlighted as evidence that measles transmission dynamics don’t scale neatly with population size. The US outbreak, described by health officials as its worst in 35 years, has already outpaced its own elevated 2025 total, while Canada’s 2026 numbers, though still troubling, represent a clear deceleration from the extraordinary 2025 surge that triggered the elimination-status loss in the first place.

Both countries’ 2026 case counts are contributing to a broader regional crisis: the Pan American Health Organization recorded 47,459 confirmed measles cases across the entire Americas region as of July 18, 2026, a figure three times higher than the total reported for the same period the previous year. With Mexico also facing sustained transmission and its own elimination-status risk, public health officials across all three North American countries are watching each other’s case trajectories closely, aware that cross-border travel means a resurgence in any one country can quickly reintroduce the virus to the others.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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