Canada wants to be at 'front of line' for coronavirus vaccines, signs deals with Novavax and Johnson & Johnson

Canada is also in "the final stages of negotiations" to secure AstraZeneca`s potential vaccine and is in talks to secure more doses of the Pfizer vaccine candidate, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said.

The four vaccine agreements signed so far "give Canada at least 88 million doses with options to obtain tens of millions more," Trudeau said when he announced the deals in Montreal. All four agreements announced so far have options to purchase further doses if needed, officials said.

Canada has a population of about 38 million, and the four vaccine agreements signed so far "give Canada at least 88 million doses with options to obtain tens of millions more," Trudeau said when he announced the deals in Montreal. All four agreements announced so far have options to purchase further doses if needed, officials said.

Trudeau also said the government will invest C$126 million (72.3 million pounds) over two years to build a biomanufacturing facility at the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre in Montreal capable of producing up to 2 million doses of a vaccine per month by next year.