Trudeau insists Laval University-developed COVID-19 vaccine received federal funding

Quebec health minister on variants, vaccines Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube speaks with CTV News about his approach to COVID-19 lockdowns, testing, vaccines and variants.

MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted on Wednesday that a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed at Laval University has not been ignored by the federal government.

During Question Period, Trudeau was grilled on the vaccine by Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, who said the Quebec provincial government will assume the federal government's share of funding for the university's Infectious Disease Research Centre.

Trudreau replied that the centre's leader, Gary Kobinger, had received a $1 million federal grant for his research as part of the novel coronavirus Rapid Research Fund.

Blanchet said Kobinger had asked for $2 million and was denied.

Earlier this week, Kobinger told the Journal de Montreal that his team had developed an animal-effective prototype COVID-19 vaccine but had been denied a federal $2 million grant for human clinical trials.

The Quebec government has since said it will make up for the missing $2 million but the money comes too late to make up for the vaccine shortage the province experienced last month.