New Federal-Provincial Healthcare Agreement
As Canadians, we place a lot of value in our universal, public health care system. Sadly, over the last decades, and particularly over the last few years, our healthcare has faced an unprecedented level of challenges—a situation that was exacerbated by the pandemic. Canadians deserve better.
To improve healthcare in Ontario, the federal government has signed an agreement-in-principle to invest $73.97 billion into Ontario’s healthcare system over the next 10 years.
This Ontario-specific investment is part of a national plan to invest $198.6 billion over 10 years into all provinces and territories for Canada-wide healthcare improvements.
These investments, on top of already significant funding, will further help provide Canadians with a health care system that includes:
Improved access to family health services, especially in rural, remote, and underserved areas;
A resilient and supported health workforce that respects our doctors, nurses, and healthcare practitioners;
Timely access to quality mental health, substance use, and addictions services; and
Access to your own electronic health information in a seamless, shareable, and secure format.
However, money alone won’t fix the problem — so we’re attaching conditions to make sure provinces and territories deliver results for you and your family. Provinces and territories need to provide transparent information so Canadians can be sure that every new dollar being announced is exactly that: a new dollar that will go towards real results they can see and feel, like reduced wait times.
Our new healthcare agreement with the provinces and territories also includes new measures to improve the safety of long-term care facilities. While regulation of long-term care facilities is the responsibility of the Premiers and their provincial governments, the federal government is taking action within our own jurisdiction. We’re providing provinces and territories with an additional $1.7 billion over 5 years, funding which will support wage increases for personal support workers and long-term care-related professions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that we can work together to tackle big challenges. We’re working with provinces and territories to deliver concrete results and improvements in healthcare for Canadians. Canadians’ lives depend on it.
