New HIV Infections in Canada Jumped 23 Per Cent

Canada was winning against HIV. Federal modelling now shows the progress unravelling, with the virus turning up in places it rarely did before.

For years the trend line pointed the right way. New modelling from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows a 22.8 per cent rise in new HIV infections in Canada between 2022 and 2024, an estimated 2,517 against 2,050 two years earlier. For a country committed to eliminating HIV as a public health threat, that is the wrong direction.

Why do new HIV infections in Canada keep climbing?

Dr. Julio Montaner has spent decades on this. Executive director at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the country's largest HIV research and treatment facility, he told CBC News he is very worried, with new cases appearing in British Columbia every week. The reversal stings because the strategy that drove new HIV infections in Canada down actually worked. His research helped prove HIV could be controlled with combination drugs, and the treatment as prevention approach he designed went global. In 2019 British Columbia declared an end to its epidemic after new AIDS cases fell 90 per cent.

Where does HIV testing reach the fewest people?

The geography of new HIV infections in Canada has shifted. Jody Jollimore, an executive director at CATIE, Canada's source for HIV and hepatitis C information, says the virus was once concentrated in big cities and now appears in rural and remote communities lacking basic health infrastructure. Many have no HIV organisation, some no clinic at all, which is exactly where HIV testing falls apart. It thrives, he says, in pockets with the least connection to care, where stigma or racism stops people getting tested. In May, Manitoba declared HIV a public health emergency, with Saskatchewan second highest. Thin local coverage is the same force behind the specialist wait times Canadians keep running into.

How much does viral suppression really matter?

Canada signed on to targets known as 95-95-95: 95 per cent of people with HIV diagnosed, 95 per cent of those on treatment, 95 per cent virally suppressed. Canada has hit one of the three. Viral suppression is the one Montaner calls decisive, because a person with a suppressed viral load does not get sick, does not progress, and does not transmit HIV. The agency estimates 70,900 people are living with HIV here, over half of them gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

What does an HIV self-test change for you?

The tools already exist. Treatment is often a single daily pill. Preventive medications known as PrEP and PEP substantially lower the risk of acquiring HIV, and Canada has approved rapid oral self-tests sold over the counter. An HIV self-test removes the appointment, the waiting room and, for many, the fear. Darryl Jordan, a harm reduction navigator in Saskatoon diagnosed in 2010, told CBC that once tested you can be treated, and once treated you can live a normal life. Globally, UNAIDS reports new infections and deaths at their lowest in more than 30 years, while warning funding cuts put a resurgence within reach. If you already take regular medication, a pharmacist can check how a new prescription fits with the rest.

What else do people ask about HIV testing in Canada?

Where do you get an HIV test in Canada?

Walk-in clinics, family doctors, sexual health clinics and many pharmacies offer testing, and self-test kits are sold over the counter without a prescription. Testing is confidential, and anonymous options exist in several provinces. If a result is positive, treatment is effective, and starting early protects your health and everyone around you.

What do PrEP or PEP actually do?

PrEP is medication taken before exposure to prevent HIV. PEP is a short course started urgently after a possible exposure, ideally within 72 hours. Both substantially reduce the risk of infection. Coverage varies by province and plan, so ask a provider or pharmacist what applies to you and how fast PEP can start.

Does an undetectable viral load stop HIV from spreading?

A person on effective treatment with a sustained undetectable viral load does not transmit HIV sexually. That is why treatment is also prevention, and why the third of the 95-95-95 targets carries so much weight. It depends on staying on treatment and having viral load monitored by a care team.

Start with a test

If you have never been tested, or it has been a while, it is a short conversation rather than a big decision. Find a walk-in clinic near you on Medimap with up-to-date wait times, and the Health Hub has more on what happens when a community declares its own health emergency.

General information, not medical advice. If you think you have had a recent exposure, seek care urgently, since PEP is time-sensitive. In an emergency, call 911.