Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced the signature of a bilateral agreement with New Brunswick to expand virtual health care services for its residents. Under the agreement, the province will invest federal funding based on agreed-upon pan-Canadian priorities for accelerating virtual health care services during the pandemic.

"Now more than ever, Canadians need access to virtual health care services. We are working with provinces and territories to support the deployment of such services for Canadians, to ensure they can access the care they need, whenever they need it. Today's investment will provide New Brunswickers with expanded virtual health services."

The Honourable Patty Hajdu
Canada's Minister of Health

"Throughout this pandemic, governments have shown what is possible when we all work collaboratively to deliver for Canadians. This landmark agreement on virtual health care services is another example of that. Our government is committed to working with the Government of New Brunswick to ensure that New Brunswickers can continue to have access to quality health care services, wherever they live."

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

"This funding arrangement with the federal government will compliment our provincial investments in virtual health care services and assist in accelerating their implementation."

The Honourable Dorothy Shephard
New Brunswick's Minister of Health

"Supporting the expansion of virtual care in New Brunswick will help reduce the pressure on health systems and provide residents with health services in a safe and secure manner."

René Arseneault
Member of Parliament

• On May 3, 2020, the Prime Minister announced an investment of $240.5 million to increase access to virtual services and digital tools to support Canadians' health and well-being.

• $150 million of that funding will be provided to provinces and territories through targeted bilateral agreements aimed at expanding virtual health services in five priority areas for immediate action to support further embedding these services within Canadian health systems, namely:

  • secure messaging and file transfer,
  • secure video conferencing,
  • remote patient monitoring technologies,
  • patient access to their COVID-19 and other lab results, and
  • back-end supports for integration and/or alignment of these new platforms or existing tools.

• This funding is also in addition to the $50 million in incremental federal funding allocated to Canada Health Infoway to further support provincial and territorial efforts to rapidly implement new initiatives in keeping with the five priority areas.

• Bilateral agreements on virtual care are a time-limited initiative aimed at ensuring that Canadians can continue to access the health care services they need during this time of uncertainty.

• Health Canada is building on this investment by working with provinces and territories on related policy issues. This will enable the longer-term adoption of high-quality and safe virtual health care services as a complement to in-person care.

• To date, funding agreements totalling more than $114 million have been announced for 11 provinces and territories, including: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Related products

• Bilateral Agreement with New Brunswick

Thierry Bélair
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Health
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