Health-care funding in Canada has been one of the major topics of debate between the provincial and federal governments in recent months — but will increased spending from Ottawa change the status quo of how health care is delivered?
In early July, the Council of the Federation, a congress made up of all 13 of Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers, declared health-care issues are the leading problems addressed by the group.
As a result, Canada’s premiers are calling on the federal government to increase federal funding from 22 per cent to 35 per cent.
How is health care funded in Canada?
The federal government provides health-care funding to the provinces and territories through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT).
CHT payments are made on an equal per capital basis “to provide comparable treatment for all Canadians,” regardless of where they live, states the government’s website. CHT is the largest major federal transfer.
Funding for health-care in Canada is made primarily through the CHT. Since 2018, funding for the transfer is set to grow along “with a three-year moving average of nominal gross domestic product,” according to the government’s website. Total funding is also guaranteed to increase by at least three per cent per year.
