Pandemic Politics: Developing Vaccines in Canada's Anti-vax Heartland.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan is a story of extremes. Through most of 2020, low case numbers, effective policy, and broad agreement among government officials, health care workers, and the public sustained a consensus that strict measures and vaccination offered the best responses; however, that consensus collapsed. The province shifted from a focal point for Canadian vaccine development to a staging ground for an anti-vaccine movement that took root on social media and then in street protests. Premier Scott Moe moved from a pro-vaccine, pro-consensus stance to a confrontational position questioning federal policies, public health measures, and vaccines. Combining traditional news sources, social media, and interviews with residents and VIDO-InterVac researchers, we track this shift. We argue that the pandemic fostered unmoderated social media discourse that overwhelmed collective responses, shaped health policies, and politicized vaccines as pro-government. Influencers inflated the movement's threat and aligned vaccine uptake to trust in science, with significant political consequences.