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The pharmaceutical industry in Canada employs approximately 30,000 people. It supplies about one third of the domestic pharmaceutical consumer market of $27 billion annually. ^[1] This accounts for ~16% of yearly health expenditures. Canada had a pharmaceutical trade deficit of $8.5 billion in 2018 with exports of $11 billion and imports of $19.5 billion. The majority of large pharmaceutical companies are headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ^[1] Both Toronto and Montreal have healthy pharmaceutical industries.

History

The first pharmaceutical company in Canada was founded in 1879 by E. B. Shuttleworth. in 1887, the first foreign-owned subsidiary was started in Windsor by the American firm Parke, Davis and Company. This branch-plant operation was primarily set up to take advantage of Canadian tariff laws designed to protect domestic manufacturers from foreign competition.

Companies

Canada hosts several large public ( Bausch Health) and private ( Apotex) pharmaceutical companies as well as many subsidiaries ( Buckley's) of larger international companies.

References