After more than 25 years of legal proceedings, Canadian tobacco companies are preparing to pay substantial compensation to smokers and former smokers. To qualify, a person must have smoked at least 87,600 cigarettes and received a diagnosis of a disease related to tobacco use. 

This unprecedented class action against tobacco companies was originally launched in Quebec in the late 1990s through the "CQTS-Blais" class action suit. 

In 2019, the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered JTI-Macdonald, Imperial Tobacco, and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) to pay nearly $14 billion to 100,000 victims of tobacco use in the province. 

Following that ruling, the companies filed under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). An Ontario judge then granted them creditor protection. A resolution to the lengthy proceedings was reached in 2025. 

On March 6, Ontario Superior Court of Justice Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz approved the arrangement plans reached with the tobacco companies being sued, for a total of $32.5 billion. Most of that amount will be paid to provinces and territories, but a portion will be allocated as compensation to direct victims of tobacco use, including those covered under the class action launched in Quebec more than 25 years ago. 

Two arrangements 

The agreement includes two distinct plans: 

  • The Pan-Canadian Claimants' (PCC) Compensation Plan for Canadian residents (including Quebec residents); 
  • The Quebec Class Action (QCAP) Administration Plan, related to the CQTS-Blais class action. 

According to the official Canadian Tobacco Claims website, $4.119 billion is allocated to the QCAP Administration Plan and $2.521 billion to the PCC Compensation Plan. Compensation payments under the QCAP Administration Plan will be managed by Proactio, a subsidiary of Raymond Chabot Inc., and those under the PCC Compensation Plan by Epiq. 

Having smoked at least 87,600 cigarettes 

Both plans require that the smoker or former smoker must have smoked at least 87,600 legally sold cigarettes in Canada between January 1, 1950, and November 20, 1998. This is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes per day for 12 years.

To be eligible, victims must also have developed a diagnosed tobacco-related disease: 

  • Primary lung cancer 
  • Primary squamous cell cancer of the throat (larynx, oropharynx, or hypopharynx) 
  • Emphysema or COPD (GOLD Grade III or IV) 

Smokers must have been living in a Canadian province or territory at the time of diagnosis and at the time of filing the claim or death, if applicable. PCC Compensation Plan claimants must have been diagnosed (or their relative, in the case of an estate) between March 8, 2015, and March 8, 2019. The victim must have been alive on March 8, 2019. 

Eligible Quebec residents under the QCAP Administration Plan must have been living in Quebec at the time of diagnosis and at the time of filing the claim. They must have been diagnosed with one of these illnesses before March 12, 2012. In the case of estates, the victim must have died after November 20, 1998. 

Only one compensation claim may be filed per individual. 

The claim submission periods began last September. The two plans have different deadlines: in Quebec, the deadline is August 31, 2026, while in the rest of Canada, it is September 3, 2027. 

Compensation ranging from $14,400 to $100,000 

Compensation for tobacco victims who meet the settlement criteria will range from $14,400 to $100,000, depending on the illness developed, the timeframe, and the plan under which they qualify. 

Overall, the amounts are more generous for individuals who qualify under the QCAP Administration Plan than for those eligible under the PCC Compensation Plan, as illustrated in the following chart. 

Tens of thousands of eligible Quebecers 

To date, approximately 65,000 individuals have registered in Quebec alone. Eligible individuals include not only smokers and former smokers, but also heirs and even heirs of heirs of smokers and former smokers. 

Under a unique agreement for the QCAP Administration Plan, a mechanism will allow people to register without needing to provide health insurance numbers or medical records, even for deceased individuals. Proactio will be responsible for completing the files by confirming victims’ diagnoses with the relevant authorities where possible. 

This support means that the vast majority of Quebec beneficiaries will not have to make individual requests to the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), the Ministry of Health or healthcare institutions to obtain the medical information needed to file their claim.

(With contributions from Amélie Cléroux.)