Canada's health ministers say federal funding extension only delays looming 'fiscal cliff'

Canada's health ministers say federal funding extension only delays looming 'fiscal cliff'

Provinces, territories happy with 1-year extension, but say it moves the fiscal uncertainty 'down the road'

Provincial and territorial health ministers say the "fiscal cliff" they fear remains on the horizon, even as the federal government extends a deal supporting mental health, addictions and home care services by one year.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the extension, which represents $1.2 billion in funding over the next year, doesn't give the ministers enough relief.

"I would argue actually, we're still dealing with a fiscal cliff," Asagwara said Thursday, following a meeting with their provincial and territorial counterparts, which they chaired at The Leaf in Winnipeg.

"This has been moved down the road a bit, but it does create additional pressure. There are other agreements that expire in 2027," Asagwara said, citing funding for rare diseases as one example.

Health ministers meet in Winnipeg after funding extension announced for mental health, addictions

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the one-year extension, announced Wednesday in a letter by federal health minister Marjorie Michel, "does not fill us with a lot of joy."

She said their governments still lack certainty about how long critical health-care services can be sustained.

Ministers want a partner in feds

"We are united to make sure that the federal government understands we need … a partner at the federal level to make sure that as we roll out these programs, we are not going to have them cut."

Asagwara said the ministers also want the Canada Health Transfer to continue growing by a guaranteed five per cent every year. The transfer is scheduled to dip to a minimum three per cent increase starting in 2028.

Manitoba's minister stressed Michel's letter doesn't lay out a path to boosting transfers, or renewing other funding agreements.

"The letter was silent on the remaining bilaterals. The letter was silent on the Canada Health Transfer and didn't outline a plan in terms of how quickly we can get back to talking about this and negotiating, which is pretty important," Asagwara said.

The health ministers will speak with Michel Friday at the federal-provincial-territorial meeting.

Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi supports the provinces and territories in requesting long-term, predictable funding from Ottawa. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)

Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Bolu Ogunyemi said long-term funding ensures improvements to the health-care system are lasting.

"When we talk about health infrastructure, recruitment, retention, community-based care, it takes a while to see results from this," he said in an interview.

"One year is not enough to see the continued investment in our communities, which is having positive results in lots of different places."

He hopes the long-term funding is tied to concrete goals, such as increasing access to family doctors and reducing rural emergency departments closures.

Manitoba will hire up to 90 family doctors by 2029 with $6M in federal funding: health minister

Ian Froese covers the Manitoba Legislature and provincial politics for CBC News in Winnipeg. He serves as president of the legislature's press gallery. He studied U.S. culture, media and politics as a 2025 World Press Institute fellow. You can reach him at ian.froese@cbc.ca.