Supporting projects to advance health equity

The Intersectoral Action Fund (ISAF) is the first Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) program explicitly dedicated to support collective action across sectors on the social determinants of health to reduce health inequities. This grant program seeks to strengthen capacity and build knowledge and tools to enable partners to work together across sectors to advance action on the social determinants of health.

August 2025

Through the Intersectoral Action Fund (ISAF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) supports projects that promote intersectoral policy action on the social determinants of health in ways that improve population health, reduce health inequities, and strengthen community resiliency.

PHAC is providing over $3 million to 14 projects across the country.

The projects receiving funding are:

Lead organization: Acadian Peninsula Regional Service Commission
Project name: From the stem to the root of food insecurity in the Acadian Peninsula
Location: Caraquet, New Brunswick
Funding: $188,300
Description: The project aims to combat food insecurity in the Acadian Peninsula by strengthening the capacities of the Food Insecurity Advisory Committee. This committee is made up of seven municipalities, a rural district and representatives from the health, education, agricultural and non-profit sectors. It will gather evidence on the local food situation, inventory national/international leading-edge food security practices and provide recommendations for municipal and agricultural policies and systemic change.

Lead organization: Atlantic Summer Institute on Healthy and Safe Communities Inc.
Project name: Implementation of upstream mental health promotion in Prince Edward Island (PEI)
Location: Charlottetown, PEI
Funding: $249,868
Description: The project will promote a mentally healthy and equitable PEI society by strengthening capacity for intersectoral action among governments, the private sector, and civil society; advancing upstream investment in communities, systems, policies, and structures; and advocating, educating and supporting community resilience and implementation of mental health in all policies across the Atlantic Region.

Lead organization: Black Food Sovereignty Alliance
Project name: Black Food Sovereignty^{Footnote 1} Alliance – Food security action plan
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Funding: $250,000
Description: This project aims to bring together diverse Black community stakeholders and allies to effectively establish a Black Food Sovereignty Alliance of Champions. It will mobilize Black communities to increase understanding of the systemic issues around food sovereignty and identify strategic priorities for realizing Black food sovereignty. The project will also create sustainable economic opportunities for low-income Black Torontonians to become efficient leaders within the vast food industry. In addition, it will support the development of a Black food sovereignty assessment and leadership development plan, and conduct research to strengthen policy development and knowledge-sharing of Black food sovereignty priorities.

Lead organization: Canadian Environmental Law Association
Project name: Mobilizing intersectoral strategies for climate resilience in low-income rental housing
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Funding: $203,300
Description: This project aims to develop and mobilize a suite of strategic options to support communities across Ontario to improve climate resiliency in rental housing and advance health equity through intersectoral action on extreme heat, flooding/mould, and degraded indoor air quality associated with wildfire smoke. This project includes the development of a toolkit of intersectoral strategies to increase climate resilience in low-income rental housing, and a collective statement and policy recommendations on the importance of climate resilience in rental housing for health equity and community well-being.

Lead organization: Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable Society
Project name: Equity First: Impact analysis and participatory planning for upstream food system and sovereignty interventions to improve health outcomes for equity-denied groups in the capital region of British Columbia
Location: Victoria, BC
Funding: $228,300
Description: The project will assess Good Food 2025 interventions with a focus on equity-denied groups to evaluate effectiveness and identify improvements. The project will involve meaningful engagement with Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, and immigrant groups—which are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and experience poorer health outcomes. The findings from this project will help inform the development of Good Food 2030.

Lead organization: City of St. John's
Project name: Healthy city for all: A lens for equity-based municipal decision-making to improve health outcomes
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Funding: $249,997
Description: This project seeks to transform decision-making in the City of St. John's by developing and implementing a municipal equity lens for policy and decision-making processes. The initiative will build on partnerships with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and the First Voice Urban Indigenous Coalition. It will support the mobilization of the City's Healthy City Strategy, which recognizes local government impact on the social determinants of health.

Lead organization: Communauté métropolitaine de Québec
Project name: Operationalization of a food governance council for greater food equity in the Capitale-Nationale region
Location: Quebec, Quebec
Funding: $250,000
Description: The project will establish a food governance council aimed at enhancing food equity in the Capitale-Nationale region through engaging citizens, strengthening partnerships, and developing a strategic plan to create a shared vision of a sustainable and resilient food system.

Lead organization: Council of Yukon First Nations
Project name: Yukon health data legislation and impacts of Yukon First Nations self-determination
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon
Funding: $249,740
Description: This project will establish an equitable framework that respects the rights and sovereignty of Yukon First Nations through the review of health data legislation and policies, and engagement with Yukon First Nations, community organizations, and decision-makers. This includes advocating for policies that protect privacy and confidentiality, while enabling data sharing in a way that supports collaborative research, evidence-based decision making, and improved health outcomes.

Lead organization: Halifax Regional Municipality
Project name: Developing an equity-based policy framework for upstream capital infrastructure investments in Halifax
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Funding: $129,290
Description: The project aims to improve the well-being of Haligonians by creating an equity-based policy framework to prioritize infrastructure investments. The framework will inform capital infrastructure investments by providing decision-makers with an approach to prioritize infrastructure projects based on a set of neighbourhood-based socio-economic indicators. This will contribute to a more equitable distribution of social and physical infrastructure—such as libraries, community centres, parks, and transit— across the municipality.

Lead organization: New Society Institute
Project name: Housing precarity and gender-based violence: Towards community-driven structural solutions
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Funding: $237,380
Description: This project will bring together systemically marginalized groups to advance upstream community actions to address the structural barriers underlying their high rates of poverty, gender-based violence (GBV) and housing security. Local Safety & Inclusion Solidarity Networks in Vancouver, Iqaluit, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, and Saint John will collectively analyze the root causes of the populations-specific, complex relationship between poverty, GBV and housing security. They will also do this through examining existing policy systems, identifying gaps, and exploring promising law and policy provisions.

Lead organization: Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre
Project name: Improving the health of Nunavummiut through policy directions at the intersection of housing security and food security
Location: Iqaluit, Nunavut
Funding: $250,000
Description: This project seeks to identify and address the intersections of housing and food security in Nunavut, with a focus on improving health and equity for Nunavummiut (Nunavut residents). The project will examine evidence and key issues in the intersections of housing and food security through foregrounding and elevating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit worldviews), and consulting partners, knowledge users, and the community. It will also include evidence reviews and collaborative analysis to identify gaps in policies and take action to address them.

Lead organization: SEED Winnipeg Inc.
Project name: Improving financial well-being through intersectoral collaboration
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Funding: $147,834
Description: This project will support intersectoral policy and systems change to improve the financial well-being of Manitobans with low incomes. By building off the work of established and new intersectoral partnerships, the project will conduct lived experience listening circles, knowledge mobilization events, and develop a financial empowerment policy strategy. The aim is to shift from a reactive approach to a more strategic and sustainable approach.

Lead organization: The Federation of Black Canadians
Project name: Total health and equity (THE) partnership
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Funding: $248,836
Description: This project seeks to examine the health impact of pandemic policies on Ontario's Black communities and inform future public health strategies. It will engage community members, public health experts, researchers, service providers, and government stakeholders in a coordinated effort to address social and structural inequities in health care. The project will include the development of recommendations to guide long-term policy change, ensuring sustainable, culturally relevant, and responsive public health systems. Key outcomes include improved health equity, stronger intersectoral partnerships, and practical solutions to mitigate barriers such as racism, socioeconomic challenges, and access to care.

Lead organization: Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth
Project name: Indigenous youth housing equity initiative
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Funding: $250,000
Description: This project seeks to develop and implement an equity-informed policy framework to enhance housing stability and security for Indigenous youth in Calgary. The project will focus on bridging the gap between research and implementation to create culturally relevant housing solutions. Guided by an advisory group composed of Indigenous Elders, youth representatives, and housing specialists, the project will review past housing needs assessments, focusing on implementation readiness through non-market land opportunities. Deliverables will include housing designs, policies, and a readiness action plan, contributing to long-term housing stability and enhancing community resilience.