Provincial health ministers warn of funding cliff for mental health and home care

Health ministers from every province and territory gathered this week with finance officials to discuss the impending $1.2 billion shortfall when dedicated mental-health, addiction and home-care funding expires in March 2027. They called on the federal government to provide certainty and act as a full funding partner to avoid severe disruptions to patient care and health-sector employment. Marion Cooper of the Canadian Mental Health Association highlighted the decade-long benefits of targeted funding and warned that any cut would be problematic given ongoing community needs.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara warned of a "looming fiscal cliff" that could produce the largest health-care cuts in a generation. The ministers noted that the Canada Health Transfer’s growth floor of five per cent is set to fall after 2028, raising further concerns. Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne did not attend the meeting but have signaled a collaborative approach for upcoming discussions.