Finding rapid COVID-19 tests across Canada, from relative ease to utter frustration

As residents in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta scramble to get their hands on rapid COVID-19 tests before the holidays, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan are ahead of the curve.

While Ontarians were left empty-handed after hours spent waiting in line for free COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits over the weekend, residents of Nova Scotia shared pictures on social media of bountiful test kit hauls gathered with ease.

The discrepancies in rapid testing availability between Canadian provinces have been met with frustration as Omicron cases surge and Christmas plans hang in the balance.

While residents of Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec scramble to get their hands on rapid tests, those in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick boast of easy access with systems already in place.

“This is a huge misstep on the part of multiple jurisdictions,” Dr. Alex Wong, infectious disease physician and clinician-researcher with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, told Global News.

Rapid antigen tests, which use a shallow nasal swab, are typically less reliable than the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, but can deliver results in less than 15 minutes. They can be performed at home and used before a family gathering or large public events to help control transmission.

This is why they have been rolled out in certain provinces in schools and other public settings, as calls for them to be distributed for free Canada-wide grew louder.

Last week, the Ontario government heeded that call, with the announcement of a “holiday testing blitz,” which pledged two million free rapid tests to be distributed through pop-up locations such as malls, retail settings, holiday markets, public libraries, transit hubs and LCBO stores.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan already had similar systems in place, while Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia vowed to follow suit.