At a glance: Departmental Evaluation Plan for Health Canada 2025-2026 to 2029-2030
The Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP) for Health Canada describes the Program Evaluation Division's scheduled work for the five-year period from 2025-2026 to 2029-2030. The Plan was developed to meet Health Canada's commitments under the Policy on Results (2016) which requires that each department prepare a five-year plan that is updated annually.
The projects included in this plan ensure full coverage of all grants and contributions spending over $5 million annually over a five-year period, commitments included in Treasury Board Submissions, information needs of program management, program risks, and the optimal use of resources. The Departmental Results Framework (DRF), the program inventory, and Performance Information Profiles developed by Health Canada have informed the development of this plan.
Planning for evaluation
Over the next five years, OAE plans to conduct 31 evaluations involving Health Canada. Of these, 20 will focus only on Health Canada activities and two will examine the activities of both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The remaining nine are horizontal evaluations, six led by other government departments (OGDs), and three led by Health Canada. A yearly breakdown is provided in Table 1. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the coverage of direct program spending by core responsibility for all scheduled evaluations over the next five years.
Table 1: Number of evaluations to be completed per fiscal year from 2025-2026 to 2029-2030
| 2025-2026 | 2026-2027 | 2027-2028 | 2028-2029 | 2029-2030 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Canada | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| PHAC and Health Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Horizontal (Health Canada-led) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Horizontal (OGD-led) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 31 |
Table 2: Coverage of Health Canada's Direct Program Spending
Note: Detailed estimates on program budgets are based on annual data for 2025-2026. This financial data was extracted by the Chief Financial Officer Branch in early May 2025. As a result, these budget figures may not fully align with those contained in other corporate reporting documents such as the Departmental Plan, the Departmental Results Report, or the Three-Year Transfer Payment Program Plan.
| Program | Evaluations planned in the next five years | Fiscal year of evaluation approval | Spending covered by evaluation in 2025-2026 ($) | Rationale for evaluating program or spending | Rationale for not evaluating program or spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core responsibility: Health Care Systems ($9,179,575,005) | |||||
Responsive Health Care Systems ($5,409,463,153) |
Improving Affordable Access to Drugs and Devices | 2026-2027 | $561,292,967 | FAA requirement (March 2029) |
Not Applicable |
| Quality Health Care Delivery | 2027-2028 | $88,426,186 | FAA requirement (October 2028) |
Not Applicable | |
| Digital Health, Health Data and Research | 2027-2028 | $67,314,500 | FAA requirement (October 2027) |
Not Applicable | |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-2029 | $45,573,960 | FAA requirement (February 2029) |
Not Applicable | |
| The Shared Health Priorities Initiative | Not Applicable | $4,634,388,108 | Not Applicable | This is a transfer of funds to the provinces. As per the various funding agreements, the provinces have committed to evaluate the impact of this funding. | |
| Canada Health Act Administration | Not Applicable | $1,767,432 | Not Applicable | Health Canada's activities have focused on the administration of the Act, such as monitoring for compliance. On an annual basis, the federal Minister of Health is required to report to Parliament on the administration and operation of the Canada Health Act, which provides good oversight on this activity. | |
| Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs | Not Applicable | $10,700,000 | Not Applicable | This funding is transferred to PEI for an area that is under their jurisdiction and for which Health Canada has no decision-making role. | |
Healthy People and Communities ($3,550,047,865) |
Health Care Initiatives for Vulnerable Populations | 2026-2027 | $83,957,531 | FAA requirement (December 2027) |
Not Applicable |
| Action Plan for Official Languages | 2027-2028 | $0 | Horizontal evaluation led by Canadian Heritage | Not Applicable | |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-2029 | $93,264,857 | FAA requirement (February 2029) |
Not Applicable | |
| Mental Health and Substance Use | 2028-2029 | $17,185,627 | FAA requirement (March 2029) |
Not Applicable | |
| Canadian Dental Care Plan | 2029-2030 | $3,355,639,850 | FAA requirement (March 2030) |
Not Applicable | |
Quality Health Science, Data & Evidence ($220,063,987) |
Digital Health, Health Data and Research | 2027-2028 | $164,933,819 | FAA requirement (October 2027) |
Not Applicable |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-2029 | $55,130,168 | FAA requirement (February 2029) |
Not Applicable | |
| Core responsibility: Health Protection and Promotion ($861,688,613) | |||||
Pharmaceutical Drugs ($76,377,175) |
Pharmaceutical Drugs Program – Human and Veterinary Drugs | 2029-2030 | $76,377,175 | Risk | Not Applicable |
Biologics and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs ($44,251,524) |
Biologic and Radio-pharmaceutical Program | 2029-2030 | $44,251,524 | Risk | Not Applicable |
Medical Devices ($17,090,933) |
Medical Devices Program | 2025-2026 | $17,090,933 | Risk | Not Applicable |
Natural Health Products ($17,691,648) |
Natural Health Products Program | 2028-2029 | $17,691,648 | Need | Not Applicable |
Food Safety and Nutrition ($64,408,587) |
Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-2028 | $0 | Horizontal evaluation led by Impact Assessment Agency of Canada | Not Applicable |
| Food and Nutrition Program | 2029-2030 | $64,408,587 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
Air Quality ($19,552,261) |
Air Quality Program | 2027-2028 | $19,552,261 | Need | Not Applicable |
Climate Change ($11,129,645) |
Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program | 2026-2027 | $11,129,645 | TB submission commitment (March 2027) | Not Applicable |
| Adapting to Impacts of Climate Change (Roll-up of Departmental Evaluations) | 2026-2027 | $0 | Horizontal evaluation led by Environment and Climate Change Canada | Not Applicable | |
Water Quality ($3,873,699) |
Chemicals Management Plan | 2028-2029 | $3,873,699 | Need | Not Applicable |
Health Impact of Chemicals ($88,664,558) |
Advancing a Circular Economy for Plastics | 2026-2027 | $1,787,270 | Horizontal evaluation led by Environment and Climate Change Canada | Not Applicable |
| Oceans Protection Plan | 2026-2027 | $737,068 | Horizontal evaluation led by Transport Canada | Not Applicable | |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-2028 | $6,041,112 | Horizontal evaluation led by Impact Assessment Agency of Canada | Not Applicable | |
| Chemicals Management Plan | 2028-2029 | $78,383,517 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan: Phase V | 2028-2029 | $1,715,591 | Horizontal evaluation led by Environment and Climate Change Canada | Not Applicable | |
Consumer Product Safety ($34,769,592) |
Consumer Product Safety Program | 2028-2029 | $34,769,592 | Need | Not Applicable |
Workplace Hazardous Products ($4,040,216) |
Workplace Hazardous Products Program | 2026-2027 | $4,040,216 | Need | Not Applicable |
Tobacco Control (including vaping) ($32,568,048) |
Health Portfolio's Tobacco and Vaping Activities | 2025-2026 | $32,568,048 | Need | Not Applicable |
Controlled Substances ($237,629,952) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (including the overdose crisis in Canada) | 2028-2029 | $237,629,952 | FAA requirement (August 2028) |
Not Applicable |
Cannabis ($100,147,144) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis | 2027-2028 | $100,147,144 | FAA requirement (December 2027) |
Not Applicable |
Radiation Protection ($21,105,074) |
Radiation Protection Activities | 2029-2030 | $21,105,074 | Need | Not Applicable |
Pesticides ($56,927,264) |
Pesticides Program | 2027-2028 | $56,927,264 | Need | Not Applicable |
Specialized Health Services and Internationally Protected Persons Program ($31,461,293) |
International Protected Persons Program | 2026-2027 | $366,727 | Need | Not Applicable |
| Public Service Occupational Health Program | 2026-2027 | $21,363,255 | TB submission commitment (March 2027) | Not Applicable | |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | 2029-2030 | $1,712,617 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Specialized Health Services | Not Applicable | $8,018,694 | Not Applicable | No requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions. Low enterprise risk. | |
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