Government of Canada supports seven projects to promote healthy living and prevent chronic disease

Through the Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund (HCCF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) supports projects that promote healthy behaviours such as healthy eating, physical activity and tobacco cessation to prevent chronic disease, with a focus on people who face health inequalities and are at greater risk of developing chronic disease.

August 2025

Through the Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund (HCCF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) supports projects that promote healthy behaviours such as healthy eating, physical activity and tobacco cessation to prevent chronic disease, with a focus on people who face health inequalities and are at greater risk of developing chronic disease.

PHAC is providing over $10 million to seven organizations that support healthy living.

The projects receiving funding are:

• Lead organization: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
• Project name: Equitable Health: Improving Cessation Outcomes within Black Communities
• Location: Greater Toronto Area, Ontario
• Funding: $846,572
• Description: This project will leverage CAMH's Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) program models, to deliver culturally adapted smoking cessation interventions for the Greater Toronto Area's Black communities. CAMH will expand access to culturally informed, evidence-based cessation programming to improve outcomes and reduce tobacco-related harms and chronic disease risks.
• Lead organization: Lung Association Of Nova Scotia And Prince Edward Island (LungNSPEI)
• Project name: Breathe Free: Community-Guided Smoking Cessation
• Location: Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
• Funding: $1,450,393
• Description: The aim of this project is to create a supportive environment to stop tobacco use among low-income, First Nations, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. LungNSPEI will partner with community groups to help approximately 2,000 people, aged 16 and over, overcome barriers to quitting smoking by providing 12 weeks of free Nicotine Replacement Therapy and additional psychosocial and peer support.
• Lead organization: McMaster University
• Project name: Strengthening Community Roots: Anchoring Newcomers in Wellness and Sustainability (SCORE!)
• Location: Hamilton, Ontario
• Funding: $2,999,250
• Description: This project will focus on creating inclusive and supportive environments for newcomer children, aged 5-11, and families to engage in physical activity and healthy eating programs in 14 neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario. The project will improve access to established healthy living programs and help individuals overcome social and economic barriers through engagement with the community and the city.
• Lead organization: Montréal – Métropole en santé
• Project name: Savoir prendre soin +, phase 2
• Location: Montréal, Québec
• Funding: $984,910
• Description: This project aims to promote equity in physical activity and sport as well as in food services. This will be achieved by fostering socially inclusive environments, enhancing the visibility of existing services for priority populations and using inclusive communication strategies.
• Lead organization: Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network (operates as Canadian Frailty Network)
• Project name: AVOID Frailty: Implementation of a Co-Designed Healthy Aging Intervention
• Location: Kingston, Ontario
• Funding: $1,654,091
• Description: This project aims to foster healthy behaviours and promote social interactions among older adults in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington. The organization will enhance its web platform to serve as a central hub for healthy aging information and engagement, establish Healthy Aging Connection corners in community spaces, and organize events with community partners that promote physical activity, healthy eating, and social interaction.
• Lead organization: University of Guelph
• Project name: Food Uniting Neighbours (f.u.n.): Interventions to improve food access and healthy eating
• Location: Guelph, Ontario
• Funding: $1,391,542
• Description: This project will focus on improving food access for low-income residents in Guelph's Onward Willow and Centre Wellington neighbourhoods. Successful interventions brought forward in the design phase will be implemented, such as transportation support to improve access to food, food skills workshops, opportunities for the community to build better social connections, and the creation of community gardens.
• Lead organization: Vivre Saint-Michel en santé
• Project name: Notre serre 4 saisons; produisons toute l'année à Saint-Michel
• Location: Montréal, Québec
• Funding: $835,901
• Description: This project aims to improve access to fresh fruit and vegetables, ensuring consistent, local production throughout the year by enhancing its community gardening production, and tailoring it to the socio-cultural and ethnic needs of the population. A collective kitchen and marketplace for garden produce will be established. The project will also implement healthy eating awareness programs through food education activities for residents of the Saint-Michel district.