Canada’s biggest tobacco companies will pay the settlement fund to provinces, ex-smokers, and territories as long as the legal battle over the health consequences of smoking comes to an end. The Ontario Court has approved the $32.5 billion settlement on Thursday, recording a milestone.
This tobacco case is one of the largest settlements related to tobacco in Canada, holding the three tobacco companies accountable for the harm caused by their products. People wondering about this settlement and its fund distribution can find all the information here.
Tobacco Settlement Canada
The Canada Tobacco litigation against big tobacco companies – JTI Macdonald Corporation, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges was filed years ago. The class action lawsuit was settled in October 2024 after a decade-long mediation between the companies and plaintiffs.
The lawsuit is rooted back to the 1998 class action lawsuit that was filed against the Tobacco distributors in Quebec Superior Court. The plaintiffs were demanding a compensation of C$20 billion as compensation and damages to pay the victims who were affected due to their tobacco products consumption. The trial for the lawsuit was concluded in 2015, where the court agreed that the defendants were aware of tobacco causing diseases, but they did not warn the customers.
The defendants appeal the court decisions, in 2019, the court upheld the decision with some modifications, and the three companies get the protection under CCAA (Companies’ Creditor’s Arrangement Act) by the Ontario Superior Court order in 2019, which suspended the payments to plaintiffs and paused the other lawsuits against the companies.
Now, after a long time, the companies are held accountable and the parties have agreed to a settlement. The Ontario Court approved the settlement fund on 06 March 2025, and it was decided that the companies will pay a total $32.5 billion settlement fund.
What does the Tobacco proposed settlement provide?
As per the proposed Tobacco settlement, the Canadians can expect the funds to be handled in the following ways:
- From the total fund of $32.5 billion, $24.7 billion will be given to provinces and territories to invest the money in cancer research and improving the healthcare facility. For instance, British Columbia may receive $3.7 billion over 18 years to work on better healthcare facilities to combat the critical diseases that occur due to tobacco products. The court has not released the full details of the funds distribution for each province, they may reveal it soon.
- $4.1 billion of total settlement fund will go to the plaintiffs of the two lawsuits filed in the Quebec Court against the Tobacco distributors in Canada,
- The $2.5 billion will be given to the smokers across Canada to compensate them for the health issues they dealt with due to the tobacco consumption. In this category, people who were not involved in the lawsuits but affected due to the tobacco products can expect compensation.
- Next, over $1 billion will be used to build and establish a foundation to fight the tobacco-causing diseases, spreading awareness about it, and to help people in fighting the diseases. As per reports, the fund for the foundation will also have the additional $131 million allocated to the Quebec plaintiffs.
How can you know if you are eligible for the Tobacco settlement compensation?
According to the Canada Tobacco settlement, the payout to the people in Canada who were affected by tobacco-related diseases would be given through the Pan-Canadian Claimants Compensation Plan. As per the PSS Compensation Plan, the class members who meet the following conditions would receive the payout:
- You must be living in Canada, province or territory, and you were alive and breathing on 08 March 2019.
- You have smoked at least 87,600 cigarettes of the defendant companies between the class action 01 Jan 1950 and 20 Nov 1998.
- You were diagnosed with some tobacco-related disease, such as Lung cancer, COPD, Throat cancer, and other critical diseases between 08 March 2015 and 08 March 2019.
Canadians should know the PCC Compensation plan is not final, so the eligibility conditions can change when the final settlement agreement is released, still, there are high chances that the compensation will be processed through the PCC compensation plan.
As the case has been going on for almost three decades, many of the affected people have already left the world, but their descendants may qualify to receive the compensation.
How can you claim the Tobacco settlement payout?
The court has just approved Canada’s biggest Tobacco settlement, The court is yet to finalize the claim process and deadline for the class members who will qualify for the compensation. As per the settlement, the companies will compensate the territories, provinces, smokers, and individuals affected by the tobacco products.
So, the affected Canadians have to wait for the Court to clarify the claiming process and finalize the settlement claim dates and other proceedings for the distribution of the funds. However, if the Court approves the PCC Compensation Plan, the class members need to submit the claim form online or send the claim form to the mailed address with the proper documents.
For now, Canadians can check out the Tobacco Claims Canada page at https://www.tobaccoclaimscanada.ca/ and register on the page to receive updates on the compensation distribution and claim process.
Impact of Long-awaited Canada’s Tobacco Settlement
The Tobacco settlement has ended years of the wait for the plaintiff fighting for the tobacco victims and the compensation they deserve for their suffering. The settlement does not only provide monetary relief to the victims but also makes the companies accountable for their deceptive practice of never warning the customers of the aftereffects of tobacco consumption.
With this settlement approval, the government set an example that companies’ first interest should be their customers and deceptive activities are intolerable under the eye of the law. The lawsuit also strengthens the Cancer Society’s fight to spread awareness about the tobacco effect and help patients.
The Canada Tobacco fight has finally reached an end, the Ontario Court has approved the settlement, now the affected Tobacco victims should wait for the Court to finalize the claim process and dates for the claimants.