Quebec Has its First Vax Lotto Winners

Quebec’s first-of-its-kind vaccine lottery incentive has already started and the province announced its first winners this week. Jean-Gabriel Mercier-Rancourt from Montérégie is the first winner of a cash prize for adults with at least one dose with the pleasant amount of CA$150,000. Thomas Langlais also from Montérégie, and Anaïs S McMurray, from Montreal, are the first teenagers to claim two scholarships.

The provinces followed the example of several other Canadian jurisdictions that have implemented a lottery promotion as a way to encourage more people to get the jab for the unprecedented situation. Each Friday in August, the province will host a draw for a cash prize of CA$150,000 and two draws for two CA$10,000 scholarships for the younger demographic of 12 to 17.

First of Many Winners

The first draw for the lotto vax promotion was hosted last Friday. It determined that Jean-Gabriel Mercier-Rancourt from Montérégie is the first winner of a CA$150,000 cash prize from the province with at least one dose of a vaccine. Then, teenagers Thomas Langlais, from Montérégie, and Anaïs S McMurray, from Montreal became winners of the two first scholarships each worth CA$10,000 and which are awarded to immunized teens from 12 to 17.

Draws for the cash prizes and the scholarships will be held every Friday in August and the winners will be announced on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Then on September 3, vaccinated individuals will be able to participate in the draw for a CA$1,000,000 main prize. Additionally, the draw will also provide 16 scholarships of CA$20,000 to the younger ones with two doses.

In addition to the cash and scholarship prizes, there is also a seven-night all-inclusive holiday for two to Cancun, Mexico. There is also a trip for two to any destination that Air Canada flies to. Vaccinated individuals can also win up to 10 round trips on Canadian soil and the opportunity to gain additional points for the airline’s loyalty program.

The next draw of the lotto campaign is scheduled for August 13, and the registration process for it concludes at 11:59 p.m. the night before. The province informs that participants can participate in all draws by only registering once. However, it is worth noting that the new rewards will be available to only fully vaccinated individuals, and Quebecers can sign for the draw on September 3, by August 31.

Technical Difficulties with Launch

Quebec saw a huge amount of locals signing up for the rewards as the lotto vax promo was launched at the end of July. However, due to the enormous amount of users trying to register for a chance to win the prize, the platform crashed, causing a slight delay at the start. The official registration process was scheduled to begin on July 25, at 8 a.m., but the website displayed a message stating that the platform was down and that a fix was being worked on.

Alberta’s Vax Lotto

Alberta has also undertaken the same initiative of introducing a lottery vaccination to encourage more people to get the jab. The official name of the promo is Open for the Summer and it began a while ago. On the first day of July, the province even announced its first winner as Tracey McIvor from Langdon won the first CA$1,000,000 prize.

Source: “Quebec announces 1st winners of COVID-19 vaccine lottery”, CBC, August 10, 2021