$5 billion in federal budget for health infrastructure

OTTAWA – The federal budget announced that $5 billion over three years, starting in 2026-27, will be dedicated for a Health Infrastructure Fund. According to the budget, this fund will complement existing health-related support provided to provinces and territories by helping to ensure their health infrastructure, such as hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care centres, and medical schools, will be able to respond to the healthcare needs of Canadians.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne (pictured) tabled his first budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday. The budget does not elaborate on the $5 billion Health Infrastructure Fund – it doesn’t explain who will administer it or what it will take to qualify for the funding.

It does note that the money will be part of a Provincial and Territorial Stream that will provide $17.2 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026-27, to support provincial and territorial infrastructure projects and priorities. “Funding will support housing enabling infrastructure (e.g., roads, water/wastewater), health-related infrastructure (e.g., hospitals), and infrastructure at colleges and universities. To access funds, provinces and territories must agree to cost match federal funding.

Health transfers
Overall, major transfers to provinces, territories, and municipalities are expected to increase from $110.8 billion in 2025-26 to $126.3 billion in 2029-30.

The Canada Health Transfer (CHT) is projected to increase from $54.7 billion in 2025-26 to $65.0 billion in 2029-30, supported by the CHT growth guarantee of at least 5 percent for five years (in effect from 2023 24 to 2027-28), after which it will grow in line with a three-year moving average of nominal GDP growth, with funding guaranteed to grow by at least 3 per cent per year.

Health agreements with provinces and territories are projected to remain at $4.3 billion in 2025-26 and 2026-27, reflecting $2.5 billion per year for tailored bilateral agreements, and $1.2 billion per year in transfers supporting home and community care and mental health and addictions services that expire after 2026-27. Another $600 million per year in transfers for long-term care expires after 2027-28.

R&D
The budget does recognize the importance of research to the Canadian economy and society, and the need to recruit international talent for this purpose. It notes, “A resilient Canadian economy depends on a highly skilled workforce. Immigration helps fill critical labour gaps in priority industries where there is not enough domestic talent.”

It specifies that the International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan will position the immigration system to meet strategic labour market needs, ensuring Canada has the talent required to drive innovation and growth in our strategic industries, while respecting immigration targets to ensure a sustainable immigration rate.

As an early measure, the government proposes a targeted, one-time initiative to recruit over a thousand highly qualified international researchers to Canada. The expertise of these researchers will help advance our global competitiveness and contribute to the economy of the future.

To contribute to research excellence in Canada, Budget 2025 proposes to provide up to $1.7 billion for a suite of recruitment measures:

• Budget 2025 proposes to provide $1 billion over 13 years, starting in 2025-26, to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research to launch an accelerated research Chairs initiative to recruit exceptional international researchers to Canadian universities.
• Budget 2025 proposes to provide $400 million over seven years, starting in 2025-26, to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to establish a complementary stream of research infrastructure support to ensure these recruited Chairs have the equipment they need to conduct research in Canada.
• Budget 2025 proposes to provide $133.6 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research to enable top international doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows to relocate to Canada.
• Budget 2025 proposes to provide up to $120 million over 12 years, starting in 2026-27, to the granting councils to support universities’ recruitment of international assistant professors, as appropriate. Additional details on the launch of recruitment processes will be announced in the coming weeks.

Northern Canada
The budget makes vague reference to improving healthcare and services in northern Canada. “Budget 2025 announces the government’s intention for the Minister of Health and the Minister of National Defence, in collaboration with the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Northern Affairs and Arctic Affairs, to undertake a comprehensive assessment of healthcare and health infrastructure needs in the North, with the goal of identifying innovative ways to increase access to health care in northern communities and reduce medical travel costs through engagement with Northern and Arctic Indigenous Peoples.

“In short order, the Special Representative will release their external review of Nutrition North Canada. The government will take this review seriously and remains committed to co-developing with Inuit and Northern Indigenous leaders, evidence-based food security approaches that better meet the high cost of living and affordability challenges faced by many Inuit and Northerners.”

The government does recognize that, “Canadians deserve timely access to health services whenever and wherever they are needed. And yet health care delivery in Canada’s Arctic and North is hampered by insufficient infrastructure, a shortage of healthcare workers, and limited access to hospitals outside of major population centres. Many people must leave their communities to access specialised care or to give birth. These inequities are particularly persistent for Indigenous communities. As a result, territorial governments face high costs to provide necessary care for their residents.”