Canadian health news — the campaign to protect, strengthen and expand public health care in Canada is partway through, and organizers say the response has been overwhelming. What’s driving it: a coming $36 billion in federal health care cuts that most Canadians still haven’t heard about — because many premiers are too afraid to speak out, worried the federal government will claw back funding in other areas like the Canada Social Transfer.
By Maplestime News Desk | Ottawa, Ontario | September 19, 2026
Sources: Council of Canadians, CUPE | Last updated: September 19, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Federal health care cuts are projected at $36 billion over ten years, per the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Council of the Federation Financial Working Group
- In December 2011, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty cut the 6% Canada Health Transfer escalator by nearly half and tied it to GDP
- The federal share of provincial health care spending was once 50% — it’s now 20%, heading to 18% by 2024
- Known cuts so far: closure of the Health Council of Canada, loss of health care for non-government sponsored refugees, contracting out of hospital services, rising clinic fees
- The Council of Canadians, CUPE, and provincial health coalitions are canvassing ridings and holding townhalls across the country
The $36 Billion Cut Nobody Is Talking About
In December 2011, the late Minister Jim Flaherty left a piece of paper on the desks of provincial finance ministers: the federal government was decreasing the 6 per cent escalator of the Canada Health Transfer by nearly 50 per cent and tying it to GDP. That single move is estimated by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Council of the Federation Financial Working Group to cost the provinces $36 billion over the next ten years.
It will also shrink the federal contribution to provincial health care spending from its original 50 per cent — already down to 20 per cent — to just 18 per cent by 2024.
On top of the CHT cuts, the federal government has also stopped giving equalization payments to the provinces with lower GDPs, leaving poorer provinces — many with aging populations and greater chronic care needs — with less funding for health care.
Tying federal health-care contributions to GDP means that when the economy is doing badly, and families are struggling to buy healthy food and prescription medications, there will also be fewer health-care services to go around. It’s a funding formula that fails exactly when people need it most.
The Cuts Canadians Already Feel
The people organizers are meeting in townhalls, at farmer’s markets and on doorsteps aren’t surprised when they hear about the federal government’s abdication from health care. Many name cuts they already know: the closure of the Health Council of Canada, the loss of health care for non-government sponsored refugees, the contracting out of hospital services, and increasing fees at their local clinics — which many ask about the legality of.
The Campaign Fighting Back
The Council of Canadians, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), provincial health coalitions, and national and provincial allies have been working together on a campaign that educates health-care advocates on the federal government’s move away from public health care. It then trains those advocates on how to canvass — and coordinates canvassing across the ridings.
Ridings have been rolling out the campaign across the country. Townhall events with Maude Barlow, Paul Moist, and local speakers have been held in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Moncton, New Brunswick; and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
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Organizers say they’re thrilled with the allies they’re meeting, the advocates getting involved, the positive response at the doorstep, and the overwhelming townhall attendance.
Maplestime will provide updates from the campaign to protect public health care in Canada as announcements are made.
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Is $36 billion in federal health care cuts the price of fiscal discipline — or an abdication of the government’s most basic duty? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian who assumes public health care will just be there.
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