Corporate Information: Public Health Agency of Canada's 2023-24 Departmental Results Report
Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
Raison d'être
Public health involves organized efforts to keep people healthy and to prevent illness, injury and premature death. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has put in place programs, services and policies to help protect and promote the health of all Canadians and residents of Canada. In Canada, public health is a responsibility that is shared by all three levels of government in collaboration with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, health professionals and the public.
PHAC was created within the federal Health Portfolio to deliver on the Government of Canada's commitment to increase its focus on public health to help protect and improve the health and safety of all Canadians and strengthen public health capacities across Canada.
Mandate and role
Information on PHAC's mandate and role is available on the Public Health Agency of Canada's website.
For more information on the Agency's organizational mandate letter commitments, see the mandate letters for the Minister of Health, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, and Minister of Sport and Physical Activity.
Operating context
PHAC operates in a complex, interconnected and evolving environment where drivers such as social determinants of health, climate change and advancements in technology affect the health of people living in Canada. PHAC continues to adapt its resources, such as human resources, skills, tools, processes and partnerships, to maintain the capacity to rapidly and effectively prevent, detect and respond to emerging global and domestic public health events and keep people across the country healthy and safe from emerging threats.
The health, social and economic policies and well-being of Canada's population are deeply interconnected and there is tremendous complexity in mobilizing resources and responding to simultaneous global public health crises affecting all regions of Canada. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of PHAC's role at the centre of the federal pandemic response.
Canada will continue to face some persistent public health challenges in the coming years. As the population lives longer, the rates of chronic diseases and conditions such as diabetes and dementia are increasing. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder continue to be of concern, with certain populations being more vulnerable to mental health issues than others, including Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Substance-related harms and deaths, especially related to opioids, are also significantly increasing, highlighting the necessity to raise awareness on the stigma associated with substance abuse. Climate change also presents increased risks to the health status of people in Canada, including heat exposure, poor air quality, notably caused by wildfires, and the increasing spread of infectious and vector-borne diseases, like Lyme disease. PHAC is working to address these climate-related challenges at the population level while acknowledging that climate change-related emergencies will impact certain populations more than others. As health inequalities persist and intensify further among segments of the Canadian population, northern, rural and remote communities, low-income families, children living in conditions of risk, Indigenous Peoples, unemployed or underemployed adults and older adults continue to experience poorer health outcomes than the average Canadian.
PHAC maintains its support to the Government of Canada in the implementation of public health measures based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent other emerging threats and combat mis- and disinformation including on social media, which continues to be a direct contributor to the growing global and domestic concerns over vaccine hesitancy. This enduring spread of false information creates a barrier to manage the increasing rates of vaccine-preventable diseases among people in the country.
Concurrently, people living in Canada continue facing an increasing risk of antimicrobial resistance, which has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten risks to global health. There is also a steady rise in sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, such as HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis, and PHAC is developing information for the public to advise on risks to help individuals protect themselves and their partners.
Timely and reliable data are essential to developing sound policies, ensuring effective programming, delivering accurate information to people in Canada and supporting overall government priorities (for example, SGBA Plus, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). PHAC works with stakeholders as part of it continued commitment to help facilitate evidence-informed decision making in public health.
As COVID-19 became endemic, in 2023–24, PHAC progressively scaled down COVID-19 response activities, notably by reducing vaccine procurement and distribution, as well as demobilizing border testing and quarantine measures. This organizational realignment is ensuring that the Agency has the necessary tools, resources and authorities to meet current and future needs as new threats emerge.
Public health is a shared responsibility in Canada, requiring coordination between the federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous and municipal governments. By improving its understanding of the priorities, activities and concerns of partners and stakeholders, PHAC adapts its programs, including those supported by grants and contributions, to respond to the diverse public health needs across Canada. PHAC's commitment to accountability, openness and results helps promote important multi-sectoral collaborations and the solutions needed to help improve the health of people in Canada.