Working together to improve health care in Canada: Overview

Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan

In the 2023 federal budget, more than $200 billion over 10 years was invested to support the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan.

Through this plan, the Government of Canada is working  collaboratively with provinces and territories on 4 shared health priorities:

• expanding access to primary care, including in rural and remote areas
• supporting the health workforce and reducing backlogs for health services such as surgeries
• improving access to quality mental health and substance use services
• modernizing the health care system to improve provider and patient access to electronic health information

Helping people in Canada age with dignity, closer to home is another priority that is being supported by efforts to improve access to home and community care, and safe long-term care.

Our plan is supported by:

• the Canada Health Transfer (CHT):
  • a $2 billion CHT top up in 2022 to 2023
  • a guaranteed 5% growth to the CHT for the next 5 years (in effect from 2023-24 and 2027-28), followed by a guaranteed 3% growth per year
• investments to support specific shared health priorities:
  • $25 billion over 10 years (2023-24 to 2032-33) to support the shared health priorities
  • $4.8 billion over 4 years (2023-24 to 2026-27) to support improvements to home and community care, and mental health and addictions services
  • $3 billion over 5 years (2021-22 to 2025-26) to improve safety in long-term care
  • $1.7 billion over 5 years (2023-24 to 2027-28) to support personal support workers (PSWs) through wage increases for provinces and territories with amended Aging with Dignity agreements or through a tax credit in provinces and territories who do not already have a PSW amendment in place
• the Territorial Health Investment Fund (THIF):
  • $350 million over 10 years (2023-24 to 2032-33) to recognize medical travel and the cost of delivering health care in the territories
• $2 billion over 10 years (2024-25 to 2033-34) through the Indigenous Health Equity Fund to address unique challenges Indigenous Peoples face when it comes to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health services