Government & Policy

TORONTO — The Ontario government has announced a $235 million investment to support over 130 new and expanded primary care teams that will connect 300,000 people to primary care this year. Read More

EDMONTON — In a video posted to X, premier Danielle Smith (pictured) announced the government’s latest plans for healthcare reshuffling, which includes eliminating all five Alberta Health Services (AHS) zones and moving to a “hospital-based leadership structure.” Read More

VICTORIA – The BC government is expanding its cost-cutting review to include regional health authorities as it focuses on minimizing unnecessary administrative spending. Ideas include more shared services for procurement and IT, according to the ministry of health. Read More

EDMONTON – Alberta premier Danielle Smith (pictured) has announced an overhaul of several government ministries, creating two new health services portfolios and replacing her Indigenous relations minister. Former health minister Adriana LaGrange has been sworn in as minister of primary and preventative health services, while former jobs minister Matt Jones is in charge of hospital and surgical health services. Read More

OTTAWA – Newly elected prime minister Mark Carney has named his cabinet, and Marjorie Michel (pictured left), a Montreal member of parliament has been appointed as Minister of Health. Interestingly, the prime minister has created a new role, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and has moved Toronto MP Evan Solomon (pictured right) – a former journalist – into the portfolio. Read More

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – An online fundraising campaign has been started on behalf of former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos (pictured). As of Sunday evening, the GoFundMe had cleared more than $66,000 of its $100,000 goal in support of Mentzelopoulos’s legal costs. Read More

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia says it has cancelled contracts with two American companies and has not renewed agreements with another nine U.S. suppliers in response to the trade war launched by president Donald Trump. The province says the cancelled service agreements and contracts are worth about $130,600. Read More

EDMONTON – Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith (pictured), announced that a new “activity-based” model is on the way, to be implemented for some surgeries in 2026. The model ties public funding to the number and type of procedures performed. Smith said the program will drive costs down by fostering competition among public providers and those who perform publicly funded procedures in private clinics. Read More

ST. JOHN’S – Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services says everything it buys is under the microscope as it looks for alternatives to U.S. products but adds it can’t come at the cost of affecting patients. Tony Williams (pictured), the senior director of supply chain for NLHS, says thousands of items are housed inside the health authority’s new 85,000-sq. ft warehouse in St. John’s — which he says serves as the backbone of the health system. Read More