Is Wegovy covered in Canada?
Not by any public drug plan, as of 12 October 2026. Canada's Drug Agency backed funding Wegovy (semaglutide) only for people with heart disease and a BMI of 27 or more, at a much lower price. Price talks ended without agreement in December 2025. Some private insurance plans cover it, often with conditions.
- Every GLP‑1 medicine is a prescription drug in Canada. A doctor, nurse practitioner or other authorized prescriber must assess you first.1
- Prices here are official list or formulary prices, with the date we checked them. We never quote a pharmacy's, clinic's or savings card's price, and we don't name or rank sellers.
- Canadian law bans advertising a drug to the public as a treatment for obesity or diabetes. This page is information, not an ad, and nothing here is for sale. The risks are in Guide 5: Side effects and risks.
What did Canada's Drug Agency recommend?
In July 2025 Canada's Drug Agency recommended funding Wegovy only for adults with a BMI of 27 or more and established heart or artery disease, if the price fell.2
Established disease meant a past heart attack, a past stroke, or symptomatic peripheral artery disease. To keep funding after a year, people would need to lose at least 5% of their BMI or body weight. The agency said a 67% price cut would be needed for Wegovy to be cost-effective, and put the cost at about $5,066 a person a year.2
Why don't the provinces cover it?
Because the price talks failed: on 1 December 2025 the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance ended negotiations without agreement.3
BC PharmaCare's December 2025 decision says Novo Nordisk told the Alliance it "would no longer be seeking public coverage of Wegovy in Canada", and lists Wegovy as a "Non-benefit".3 Ontario's formulary lists Wegovy as off-formulary, not a benefit.4 Public plans do cover semaglutide as Ozempic, for type 2 diabetes only; see Does OHIP cover Ozempic?
Will private insurance pay for Wegovy?
Sometimes: Global News reported in May 2026 that only a small number of private insurers cover these medicines for weight management.5
Ask your insurer, in writing, before you fill it: whether it covers Wegovy for weight, whether your prescriber must send a prior authorization form, and whether it sets a BMI threshold or asks you to try other treatments first. Without coverage, the price Canada's Drug Agency used was $388.64 a pen of 4 weekly doses, the same at every strength.6 Who qualifies on the label is in What BMI do you need for Wegovy in Canada?
- Stomach effects are very common. In the weight trials on the Canadian Wegovy monograph, 44 in 100 people on Wegovy felt sick (nausea), against 16 in 100 on placebo.7
- Gallstones were reported in 1.6 in 100 people on Wegovy and 0.7 in 100 on placebo. Losing weight fast raises the risk.7
- Inflamed pancreas (pancreatitis) was confirmed in 4 people on Wegovy in the weight trials, about 0.2 cases per 100 patient-years, against 1 on placebo.7
- Who shouldn't take it. Not for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2. Stop it at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy.7
Read the full picture
Related questions
Sources
- Health Canada. Drug Product Database: product records and marketing status for semaglutide and tirzepatide products (for example Ozempic DIN 02471469 "Marketed"; Sevmia DIN 02569582 "Approved", not marketed; Zepbound first marketed 9 July 2025). Searched 12 Oct 2026. health-products.canada.ca
- Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC). Semaglutide (Wegovy) reimbursement recommendation SR0841, July 2025 ("Reimburse with conditions" only for adults with "a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established CVD"; "at least a 5% reduction in BMI or total body weight" to continue after year 1; "A price reduction of 67% would be required"; "approximately $5,066 per patient per year"). canjhealthtechnol.ca
- BC PharmaCare. Drug coverage decision: semaglutide (Wegovy), 18 Dec 2025 ("Non-benefit"; Novo Nordisk "would no longer be seeking public coverage of Wegovy in Canada"; pCPA negotiations concluded without agreement on 1 Dec 2025). gov.bc.ca (PDF)
- Ontario Ministry of Health. Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary: semaglutide pens (Ozempic $227.94 a pen with the plan paying $78.141; generic semaglutide $78.141 a pen, interchangeable, Limited Use; Sevmia $325.048 a pen, off-formulary interchangeable); tirzepatide not listed. Checked 12 Oct 2026. formulary.health.gov.on.ca
- Global News. Novo Nordisk will slash Ozempic price for some, 'aligning' with generics, 26 May 2026 (a savings card for people without public or private coverage, "excluding Quebec"; "only a small number of private insurers cover the use of the drugs for weight management"). globalnews.ca
- Canada's Drug Agency (CDA-AMC). Semaglutide (Wegovy) SR0841, pharmacoeconomic review: Wegovy FlexTouch pens "contain 4 doses. The unit cost is $388.64 per pen (or $97.16 per dose)… the cost of pens is the same for all doses" (price submitted by the maker). canjhealthtechnol.ca
- Novo Nordisk Canada. Wegovy (semaglutide injection) Product Monograph, revised 2 Oct 2026 (indications: adults with BMI 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia or obstructive sleep apnea; ages 12 to under 18 at the 95th percentile and above 60 kg (132 lb); non-fatal heart attack risk with established cardiovascular disease and BMI 27 or more; MASH under the NOC/c policy; nausea 44% vs 16% on placebo; gallstones 1.6% vs 0.7%; stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy; do not freeze). pdf.hres.ca (PDF)
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error
How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official list or formulary prices, never a seller's, savings-card or coupon price, and we don't name or rank sellers. Availability, coverage and recall facts are dated because they change. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice, and not an advertisement for any medicine. Talk to a doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write