Unpacking claim Canada PM Carney tied to sale of donated plasma to foreign company

Yahoo

14 hours ago

In August 2025, a rumor began to spread that donated blood plasma had been sold for profit to a foreign company. That foreign company was the target of a takeover attempt by a Canadian fund to which Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney had ties, the rumor claimed.
For example, an Aug. 13, 2025, a post on X shared a video in which a man exposed the alleged scheme (archived):
The post had gained 305,000 views and 10,000 likes as of this writing. The same video appeared on Facebook. Further, Snopes readers searched the website seeking to confirm the veracity of the claim.
In the video, the man claimed this was "one of the biggest scandals of the year." He went on to explain that a charitable organization known as Canadian Blood Services had sold donated plasma to Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols, which had then resold it for profit. Grifols, the man said, had been the target of a second takeover attempt by Canadian fund Brookfield Asset Management in April 2025 (the first one occurred in late 2024). He added that Carney had "significant personal investments in Brookfield," which he suggested posed a conflict of interest for the prime minister.
As outlined below, we were able to confirm that Grifols discussed selling a byproduct of plasma in China. We were able to verify that Grifols had indeed been the target of a takeover attempt from Brookfield, to which Carney has ties. However, we did not receive direct confirmation that Grifols was selling specifically albumin made from Canadian plasma abroad, or that Carney had any involvement with this matter. We have therefore left the claim unrated.
The Globe and Mail report
The claim stemmed from an investigative report by the right-leaning newspaper The Globe and Mail. Published on Aug. 12, 2025, the report said Grifols was "selling medicine abroad" made from blood plasma donated to Canadian Blood Services.
Snopes was able to confirm Grifols partnered with CBS in 2022 to help Canada achieve "at least 50% Ig [immunoglubolin] self-sufficiency for Canadians." In June 2023, Grifols announced that it was also partnering with Canadian Plasma Resources to "secure plasma supplies" in Canada. "Production is exclusively for Canadian Blood Services and Canadian patients," Grifols' statement read. Immunoglobulins are made from plasma and are used for a variety of therapeutic needs, including in case of immunodeficiency. The Globe and Mail also cited CBS CEO Graham Sher as saying, "None of the plasma that will be collected through this transaction can be sold offshore," including "none of the product made from plasma." Sher had reportedly said these words in 2022.
However, despite this promise, The Globe and Mail said Grifols had been making albumin in Montreal from a byproduct of the manufacturing of immunoglobulins and selling it abroad. Albumin is a protein used therapeutically to manage blood volume, for example. The publication cited a call Grifols CEO Nacho Abia had hosted on the occasion of the earnings report for the second quarter of 2025. Snopes found the transcript of the call and was able to verify that Abia said Grifols' plant in Montreal was now producing albumin. He also discussed China's need for the product. We contacted Grifols asking whether it was selling albumin made from Canadian plasma to China and other countries. We will update this report should they respond.
The Globe and Mail then cited CBS as saying that Canada's albumin needs were already met, and that the albumin produced in Montreal would otherwise go to waste. CBS added that this product benefited Grifols' patients abroad, the report said. However, the newspaper added that CBS had said this in an "unsigned statement."
"None of the plasma collected at Canadian Blood Services' donation centres is being used to make medicine that is being sold in other countries, including albumin," CBS told Snopes in an email, contradicting the Globe report. "Blood and plasma that is collected by Canadian Blood Services is used exclusively for Canadian patients." The organization also referred Snopes to an Aug. 13, 2025, statement it posted on its website in response to The Globe and Mail report.
But the online CBS statement includes a few sentences that appeared to reiterate the quote attributed to them in the Globe report (emphasis ours):
Canadian Blood Services has been meeting Canada's demand for albumin so we agreed in early 2025 that, as a prudent measure, we would sell Grifols the byproducts that are leftover when immunoglobulins are manufactured from plasma Grifols collects on our behalf in Canada. These byproducts would otherwise be discarded.
Instead Grifols can use the byproducts to create albumin which will help patients in other countries, because Canada's needs for these medicines are already being met. Canada benefits from this, as the sale of the byproducts to Grifols offsets the cost Canadian Blood Services pays for immunoglobulins manufactured by Grifols.
We asked what CBS made of this apparent contradiction. We also contacted The Globe and Mail to inquire about their understanding of the situation. We will update this story should one or both of them respond.
The Conservatives' letter
Following the conservative publication's report, Conservative lawmakers on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health sent a letter to committee Chair Hedy Fry, a Liberal from British Columbia, calling for an investigation into the matter. Dan Mazier, a Conservative from Manitoba and Shadow Minister of Health, posted the letter on X (archived):
In this letter, the Conservative members of Parliament expressed concern that Grifols had been the target of a takeover attempt by Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian fund to which Carney has ties. "Given Mark Carney's significant personal investments in Brookfield, we are further concerned about the Prime Minister's potential financial conflict-of-interests in this matter," the letter read.
Indeed, Grifols had been in talks twice with Brookfield. In November 2024, the company announced it had terminated deal talks with Brookfield. Then again in April 2025, several reports said the family that owns Grifols was discussing a possible $7 billion takeover deal with Brookfield.
Snopes was able to verify that Carney did have ties to Brookfield. While he did not own any of its shares outright, a Form 10-K annual report from the company showed he owned $6.8 million in unexercised options to acquire shares of the fund as of Dec. 31, 2024. Carney had also been chair of the board until the day he announced his candidacy to lead the Liberal Party in the 2025 elections.
However, after his victory and before he was sworn in as prime minister, Carney put his assets into a blind trust — that is, a trust whose rules preclude the trustee from consulting with Carney on how to invest or divest. On July 10, 2025, the ethics commissioner published the list of Carney's assets in the blind trust. They did include stock options for Brookfield. We have contacted Carney's office asking if he was considering divesting from the company altogether and we will update this report should he respond.
"Form 10-K 2024 | Brookfield Asset Management." Bam.brookfield.com, Jan. 2025, bam.brookfield.com/sites/brookfield-bam/files/BAM-IR-Master/Annual-Reports/2024/2024%20Q4%20BAM%20Ltd%2010-K%20-%20English.pdf. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
"Grifols Board of Directors Announces Termination of Acquisition Discussions with Brookfield." Grifols.com, Nov. 2024, www.grifols.com/en/view-news/-/news/grifols-board-of-directors-announces-termination-of-acquisition-discussions-with-brookfield. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
"Grifols Enters into Agreement with Canadian Blood Services to Accelerate Self-Sufficiency in Immunoglobulins for Canada." Grifols.com, Sept. 2022, www.grifols.com/en/view-news/-/news/grifols-enters-into-agreement-with-canadian-blood-services-to-accelerate-self-sufficiency-in-immunoglobulins-for-canada-1. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
"Grifols Group Enters into Agreement with Canadian Plasma Resources to Secure Plasma Supply in Canada." Grifols.com, 2023, www.grifols.com/en/view-news/-/news/grifols-group-enters-into-agreement-with-canadian-plasma-resources-to-secure-plasma-supply-in-canada. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
Hannay, Chris. "Spanish Drugmaker Using Canadian-Donated Blood Plasma for Products Sold Abroad." The Globe and Mail, 12 Aug. 2025, www.theglobeandmail.com/business/economy/article-canadian-blood-services-grifols-plasma-medicine/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
"Mark Carney Holdings | Ethics Commissioner." Parl.gc.ca, 10 July 2025, prciec-rpccie.parl.gc.ca/EN/PublicRegistries/Pages/Declaration.aspx?DeclarationID=cd9fa6cd-e00f-f011-8194-001dd8b72449. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
Reuters Staff. "Grifols in 15-Year Deal with Canada for Plasma-Based Medicines." Reuters, 7 Sept. 2022, www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/grifols-15-year-deal-with-canada-plasma-based-medicines-2022-09-07/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
---. "Spanish Pharma Company Grifols' Shares up on Brookfield Talk." Reuters, 2 Apr. 2025, www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/brookfield-resumes-grifols-takeover-talks-el-confidencial-reports-2025-04-02/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
"The Honourable Hedy Fry - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada." Ourcommons.ca, 2025, www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/1589. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
Transcript: Grifols Q2 Earnings Call. Grifols, 29 July 2025, www.grifols.com/documents/6155530/7706427/Transcript+Q2+2025_VF.pdf/1262354d-f79f-d771-ca1d-7047da7b2a36?t=1753874346973. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
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