PEIFertility support in Prince Edward Island was the subject of debate during question period in the provincial legislature Friday, as the Liberals accused the Progressive Conservative government of not doing enough to support Islanders struggling with infertility. In response, Premier Rob Lantz said he wants this province to become a “centre for excellence” for fertility services in the Maritimes. Premier wants the Island to become ‘centre for excellence’ for fertility servicesMarilee Devries · CBC News · Posted: Nov 21, 2025 4:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Springfield, P.E.I., resident Vanessa Hardy is scheduled to begin in-vitro fertilization treatment in Halifax in January. At 39, she says this may be her ‘one chance,’ and is calling on the provincial government to step up fertility supports in the province. (Wayne Thibodeau/CBC)Vanessa Hardy is facing what she says may be her last chance at becoming a parent.In January, she’ll begin an in-vitro fertilization treatment that she said has been delayed by years — in part because of a lack of fertility supports in Prince Edward Island.“It’s about $26,000…. I’m 39, so this is probably going to be my only chance at doing this,” Hardy said of the treatment she’ll undergo in Halifax. “It took a while for us to save up the funds for that; it delayed it by years.”Hardy was at the legislature Friday, where fertility supports were the subject of debate during question period. The Opposition Liberals accused the Progressive Conservative government of not doing enough to support Islanders struggling with infertility.Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly says Islanders are ‘running out of patience’ when it comes to better fertility supports in the province. (Legislative Assembly of P.E.I.)Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly brought up the PC government’s 2019 platform, which included a promise to “reinstate a fertility specialist to implement fertility training and IVF treatment.” “Islanders voted for this government in 2019 because of that promise in your election platform,” McNeilly said. “[Families] don’t have six years…. They’ve waited and waited patiently. They’re running out of patience.”He called on Premier Rob Lantz to “stand up” and commit to changing the Fertility Treatment Program funding model in P.E.I. The program provides between $5,000 and $10,000 per year, based on family income, for expenses associated with IVF and intrauterine insemination. Advocates have called the funding insufficient, and the income testing unfair.Lantz said he’s had conversations recently with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt about how the Maritime provinces should not duplicate specialty services like fertility treatment, but rather explore ways to share them. “If we were ever to move in that direction, I would like Prince Edward Island to be a centre of excellence for reproductive care and women’s health,” Lantz said. Speaking to reporters after question period, Lantz stressed that this is only a concept at this point. WATCH | Premier says he’d like P.E.I. to be a ‘centre of excellence’ in Maritimes for fertility services:Premier says he’d like P.E.I. to be a ‘centre of excellence’ in Maritimes for fertility servicesThere were calls in the P.E.I. legislature to do more to support parents with fertility issues. The province doesn’t have an in-vitro fertilization clinic or a fertility specialist working here, despite a 2019 election promise to add some of those services. CBC’s Wayne Thibodeau has more. “It’s an idea at this point, and simply that, but it’s something I’m very curious about and would like to pursue.”Lantz said Holt’s reception to the idea was “very good.”“Specialty medicine is becoming more and more specialized, and there’s just a recognition that there’s no way that each of our provinces in this small region can offer all these services independently, and that the future lies in sharing these services,” he said. The premier said he will try to get the subject on the agenda at the next Council of Atlantic Premiers meeting, but said there is no timeline attached to the idea at this point. ‘It’s a huge burden’In the legislature, Health Minister Mark McLane said government will “continue to look” at its Fertility Treatment Program, but brought up the difficulties of expanding it without federal funding.He said the concern is that if P.E.I. expands the program and then the federal government introduces a fertility support program of its own, there is a risk that P.E.I. would become ineligible for it. “The federal budget came out about 10 days ago, and again we were waiting to see, because the federal government promised in their election campaign to fund IVF across the country… [which] they did not do,” McLane said during question period. “If they don’t fund it, we would look for an exemption to say ‘we’re going to start now, but if you put [it] in the next budget, we need to have some kind of a clawback,’ so we can be fiscally responsible to Islanders.”WATCH | More can be done for Islanders facing fertility challenges, advocate says:More can be done for Islanders facing fertility challenges, advocate saysEarlier this month, MLAs heard the Island is unlikely to ever have its own in-vitro fertilization clinic — because it doesn’t have the population to support one. But advocates say there are other ways to improve fertility services here. CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin spoke with Caroline Dube, executive director of Fertility Matters Canada, about the issue. For Hardy, that’s not good enough.“We don’t have time to wait for the federal government to step up on this. It should have been done by the [province] years ago when they started making the promises, the promises that we voted for… because we thought that they were actually going to put it through,” she said, calling it “very frustrating.��”“That adds to the emotional stress that we’re already dealing with…. It’s a huge burden for us.”Call for improved menopause resourcesWomen’s health issues were also raised Friday in the legislature by the Green Party.Karla Bernard cited a recent survey on women’s health in Atlantic Canada, which found that 70 per cent of women feel the current system does not meet their needs.“According to the survey, the top things women want to prioritize include but are not limited to menopause, hormonal health and perimenopause,” Bernard said during question period.Green MLA Karla Bernard question P.E.I.’s health minister about supports for Island women suffering from symptoms related to menopause. (Legislative Assembly of P.E.I.)She noted that this spring, the province of British Columbia negotiated with the federal government for free public coverage of hormone replacement therapy, which experts say may be an effective option for women who are suffering with symptoms of menopause.“Why did you fail to negotiate equal coverage for the women of P.E.I.?” she asked the health minister.McLane said agreements with the federal government “take a long time to do,” but said the topics around women’s health that were raised Friday are important. “We need to do more…. In the next operating budget, I will continue to advocate for additional spending on those two areas,” he said.”It’s not a want, it’s a need, so I think as a government we’re going to try to do what we can, and we have to access that federal funding when we can.”ABOUT THE AUTHORMarilee Devries is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. She has a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She can be reached at marilee.devries@cbc.caWith files from Wayne Thibodeau
Islanders, opposition ask province to step up on fertility supports, women’s health care
