At a glance: Departmental Evaluation Plan for the Public Health Agency of Canada 2025-2026 to 2029-2030
The Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP) for the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) 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 PHAC'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 $5 million annually over a five-year period, commitments included in Treasury Board Submissions, information needs of program management, program risks, and the optimal use of resources. The Departmental Results Framework (DRF), program inventory, and Performance Information Profiles developed by PHAC have informed the development of this plan.
Planning for evaluation
Over the next five years, OAE plans to conduct 30 evaluations involving PHAC; of these, 21 will focus on PHAC activities and two will examine the activities of both PHAC and Health Canada. The remaining seven are horizontal evaluations, five of which will be led by other government departments (OGDs), and two by Health Canada. A yearly breakdown is provided in Table 1. Table 2 provides a breakdown of the coverage of direct program spending by core responsibility for all scheduled evaluations over the next five years.
Table 1: Number of evaluations per fiscal year 2025-2026 to 2029-2030
| 2025-2026 | 2026-2027 | 2027-2028 | 2028-2029 | 2029-2030 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHAC | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 21 |
| PHAC and Health Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Horizontal (OGD-led) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
Table 2: Coverage of PHAC's Direct Program Spending
Note: Detailed estimates on program budgets are based on annual data for 2025-2026. This financial data was extracted by the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Management Branch in early May, 2025. As a result, these budget figures may not fully align with those contained in other corporate reporting documents such as the Departmental Plan, the Departmental Results Report, or the Three-Year Transfer Payment Program Plan.
| Program | Evaluations planned in the next five years | Fiscal year of evaluation approval | Spending covered by evaluation in 2025-2026 ($) | Rationale for evaluating program or spending | Rationale for not evaluating program or spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core responsibility: Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention ($393,689,538) | |||||
| Health Promotion ($303,028,002) |
Maternal and Child Health Programs | 2025-2026 | $78,735,534 | FAA requirement (March 2026) | Not Applicable |
| PHAC's Mental Health Activities | 2025-2026 | $85,058,004 | TB submission commitment/Risk (March 2026) | Not Applicable | |
| Nutrition North Canada | 2025-2026 | $385,000 | Horizontal evaluation led by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada | Not Applicable | |
| Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities | 2027-2028 | $34,116,368 | FAA requirement (August 2027) | Not Applicable | |
| Action Plan for Official Languages | 2027-2028 | $2,088,475 | Horizontal evaluation led by Canadian Heritage | Not Applicable | |
| Federal Gender-Based Violence Strategy | 2027-2028 | $7,050,502 | Horizontal evaluation led by Women and Gender Equality Canada | Not Applicable | |
| Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative | 2027-2028 | $33,413,704 | Horizontal evaluation led by ESDC | Not Applicable | |
| Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis | 2027-2028 | $2,505,138 | Horizontal evaluation led by Health Canada (December 2027) | Not Applicable | |
| Aging, Seniors and Dementia | 2028-2029 | $37,680,337 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Horizontal Evaluation of the Canadian Drugs Substances Strategy | 2028-2029 | $4,183,455 | Horizontal evaluation led by Health Canada (August 2028) | Not Applicable | |
| Preventing Family Violence Program | 2029-2030 | $13,762,485 | FAA requirement (November 2029) | Not Applicable | |
| Integrated Strategy for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease - Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health | Not Applicable | $550,000 | Not Applicable | This funding does not fit with other children's programs and has very low materiality. | |
| Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder National Strategic Projects Fund | Not Applicable | $1,499,000 | Not Applicable | This program was recently evaluated in 2022-2023 and has low materiality. | |
| Autism Initiative | Not Applicable | $2,000,000 | Not Applicable | This program has low materiality and was evaluated recently (2022-2023). | |
| Chronic Disease Prevention ($40,834,862) |
Health Portfolio's Tobacco and Vaping Activities | 2025-2026 | $205,000 | Need | Not Applicable |
| Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund | 2025-2026 | $28,087,164 | FAA requirement (March 2026) | Not Applicable | |
| PHAC's Mental Health Activities | 2025-2026 | $1,944,437 | FAA requirement (March 2026) | Not Applicable | |
| Intersectoral Action Fund | 2025-2026 | $2,000,000 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Framework for Diabetes in Canada | Not Applicable | $593,510 | Not Applicable | This is a time limited contribution (2021-2022 to 2025-2026). A report to Parliament on the effectiveness of the Framework will be provided by October 2027. | |
| Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge | Not Applicable | $3,004,751 | Not Applicable | This is a time limited contribution (2021-2022 to 2025-2026) with low materiality. This type of Challenge Prize is also evaluated via PCO's Impact Canada: Annual Report 2022-2023 Impact Canada | |
| ParticipACTION | Not Applicable | $5,000,000 | Not Applicable | Funding is ending in 2025-2026 and was evaluated recently (2023-2024). | |
| Evidence for Health Promotion, and Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention ($49,826,674) |
PHAC's Mental Health Activities | 2025-2026 | $119,658 | TB submission commitment/risk (March 2026) | Not Applicable |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-2028 | $249,582 | Horizontal evaluation led by Impact Assessment Agency of Canada | Not applicable | |
| Horizontal Evaluation of the Canadian Drugs Substances Strategy | 2028-2029 | $4,194,771 | Horizontal evaluation led by Health Canada (August 2028) | Not Applicable | |
| National Collaborating Centres | 2028-2029 | $3,456,260 | FAA requirement (March 2029) | Not applicable | |
| Evidence for Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention | 2029-2030 | $41,329,682 | Need | Not applicable | |
| Framework for Diabetes in Canada | Not Applicable | $476,721 | Not Applicable | This is a time limited contribution (2021-2022 to 2025-2026). A report to Parliament on the effectiveness of the Framework will be provided by October 2027. | |
| Core responsibility: Infectious Disease Prevention and Control ($913,128,513) | |||||
| Laboratory Science Leadership and Services ($131,703,432) |
Infectious Diseases and Climate Change | 2025-2026 | $1,116,689 | Need | 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 | |
| Medical Countermeasures Capacity | 2026-2027 | $28,479,434 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Food-borne and Water-borne Enteric Diseases | 2027-2028 | $1,477,968 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Anti-Microbial Resistance | 2029-2030 | $1,228,465 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | 2029-2030 | $99,100,876 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| NML Wastewater Innovative Technologies | Not Applicable | $300,000 | Not Applicable | This program is sunsetting and was recently evaluated (2024-2025) | |
| Communicable Diseases and Infection Control ($93,529,114) |
Healthcare Associated Infections | 2026-2027 | $0 | Need | Not Applicable |
| National Collaborating Centres | 2028-2029 | $973,666 | FAA requirement (March 2029) | Not Applicable | |
| Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections | 2028-2029 | $33,571,967 | FAA requirement (March 2029) | Not Applicable | |
| Tuberculosis | 2028-2029 | $0 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| Anti-Microbial Resistance | 2029-2030 | $1,844,700 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | 2029-2030 | $54,948,781 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Blood Safety | Not Applicable | $2,190,000 | Not Applicable | This program has low materiality, was evaluated recently (2022–2023). Funding is set to expire in 2025-2026. | |
| Vaccination Program ($668,311,750) |
Respiratory Infectious Diseases | 2027-2028 | $34,862,695 | Need | Not Applicable |
| Vaccination Program | 2029-2030 | $631,405,721 | FAA requirement (April 2030) | Not Applicable | |
| Immunization Surveillance | Not Applicable | $2,043,334 | Not Applicable | Funding is ending in 2025-2026 and was evaluated recently (2024-2025). | |
| Foodborne and Zoonotic Disease ($19,584,217 |
Infectious Diseases and Climate Change | 2025-2026 | $4,706,275 | Need | 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 | |
| Foodborne and Waterborne Enteric Diseases | 2027-2028 | $3,469,243 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| National Collaborating Centres | 2028-2029 | $973,666 | FAA requirement (March 2029) | Not Applicable | |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | 2029-2030 | $9,896,767 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Anti-Microbial Resistance | 2029-2030 | $538,266 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Core responsibility: Health Security ($268,417,436) | |||||
| Emergency Preparedness and Response ($252,477,702) |
Biosecurity Program | 2025-2026 | $319,623 | Risk | Not Applicable |
| Foodborne and Waterborne Enteric Diseases | 2027-2028 | $87,171 | Need | Not Applicable | |
| National Collaborating Centres | 2028-2029 | $973,666 | FAA requirement (March 2029) | Not Applicable | |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | 2029-2030 | $251,097,242 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
| Biosecurity ($19,712,588) |
Biosecurity Program | 2025-2026 | $19,712,588 | Risk | Not Applicable |
| Border Health Security ($15,939,734) |
Biosecurity Program | 2025-2026 | $2,540,609 | Risk | Not Applicable |
| Border and Travel Health Program | 2026-2027 | $13,399,125 | Risk | Not Applicable | |
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