The main goal of the Government of Canada was to secure safe and effective vaccines for Canadians as early as possible. The procurement strategy taken was all with that goal in mind. That is why there was a diverse portfolio of seven different vaccines pursued in order to get best chances. Given that there was a lot of risk at the time, we didn't know which vaccines, if any, would get Health Canada approval, and even if they did, we didn't know when they would be available.
On December 4th, 2023. See this statement in context.