Despite castigation from provincial premiers over lagging federal contributions to health spending, an analysis of 20 years of health funding data shows that federal transfers have mostly outpaced increases to provincial health budgets.
In 2023, federal health transfers amounted to $47.1 billion, a 212 per cent increase over 2005, when the transfers were $15.1 billion. Total spending by all 10 provinces grew in that time to $221.9 billion up from $86.2 billion, an increase of 158 per cent.
The Canadian Press, in partnership with Humber College StoryLab, collected data on provincial health budgets and federal health transfers from 2004 to 2023 to track annual spending from the launch of the 2004 federal-provincial health accord under former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
The findings stand in stark contrast to the rhetoric that has punctuated federal and provincial health negotiations over the last several years, as health systems struggled in the aftermath …