From: Tingting ZhangTo: Healthcare observersDate: November 6, 2025Re: Federal Health Funding: Promises and Performance Gaps In Budget 2023, the federal government committed an additional $25 billion over 10 years to fix Canada’s ailing healthcare system, with improved family health services as the first of four shared health priorities. This investment came with strings attached: Bilateral […]
The federal public service has grown by more than 57,000 people over the past 5 years. Employment and Social Development Canada accounts for 21 percent of the total increase; it grew from 27,000 in 2020 to 39,000 in 2025. The next largest increase was the Canada Revenue Agency, with an increase of about 7,500 employees. Health Canada […]
From: Rosalie WyonchTo: Pharmacare watchersDate: September 25, 2025Re: Pharmacare Reset: Get the Best Value for the Public Dime A “fill the gaps” approach for pharmacare that minimizes disruption for the approximately 27 million Canadians with existing private coverage and fiscal liability for the public sector was the consensus conclusion of an August C.D. Howe Institute […]
Rosalie Wyonch, associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, joins Amber Mac to share ideas on how we can use innovation, in the face of Canada’s healthcare crisis, to ease Canada’s tied-up hospitals.  Â
Introduction and Overview: This Conference Report captures findings from a C.D. Howe Institute workshop of policymakers, industry leaders, and health experts. Participants agreed that federal pharmacare funding should focus on reducing coverage gaps and out-of-pocket costs for the uninsured and underinsured, rather than replacing Canada’s mixed public-private system. This approach avoids disruption for the 27 […]
September 18, 2025 – With 97 percent of Canadians already having access to some form of drug coverage, a new Conference Report by the C.D. Howe Institute finds that a fiscally responsible approach to universal pharmacare should focus on closing gaps in prescription drug coverage rather than replacing plans with a single-payer system. In “Access […]
From: Will FalkTo: Healthcare AI WatchersDate: September 17, 2025Re: The Role of AI in Care Teams: To Complement, Not Substitute We hit peak AI hype this summer when The Guardian quoted 2024 Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis: “It’ll be 10 times bigger than the Industrial Revolution – and maybe 10 times faster.” I checked the quote […]
August 21, 2025 – In response to concerns that Canada’s drug benefits system is drifting toward the dysfunctional US model, pharmacy stakeholders have petitioned to ban or regulate preferred pharmacy networks (PPNs). However, a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute finds little evidence of widespread harm by PPNs in the Canadian system. In “Friend […]
by Paul Grootendorst Preferred Pharmacy Networks (PPNs) in Canada are primarily used for distributing high-cost specialty drugs through select pharmacies that agree to lower fees in exchange for higher volumes. While some have suggested that PPNs increase market concentration, there is limited evidence of widespread harm to small and independent pharmacies. Pharmacy stakeholders have cautioned […]
While attachment to a primary care provider is relatively high across Canada (82 percent), it seldom translates into timely or after-hours access. In the ten provinces and the Yukon, reported access was low, with only 9 to 26 percent finding after-hours care easily accessible, and 19 to 32 percent able to get same- or next-day […]
June 12, 2025 – Canada’s one-size-fits-all approach to taxing nicotine discourages smokers from switching to much safer alternatives and is fuelling a thriving illicit market, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Taxation and Regulation of Reduced-Harm Nicotine Products,” Ian Irvine and Sam Hampsher-Monk find that while taxes account for about […]
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From: Tingting ZhangTo: Healthcare observersDate: November 6, 2025Re: Federal Health Funding: Promises and Performance Gaps In Budget 2023, the federal government committed an additional $25 billion over 10 years to fix Canada’s ailing healthcare system, with improved family health services as the first of four shared health priorities. This investment came with strings attached: Bilateral […] 
The federal public service has grown by more than 57,000 people over the past 5 years. Employment and Social Development Canada accounts for 21 percent of the total increase; it grew from 27,000 in 2020 to 39,000 in 2025. The next largest increase was the Canada Revenue Agency, with an increase of about 7,500 employees. Health Canada […] 
From: Rosalie WyonchTo: Pharmacare watchersDate: September 25, 2025Re: Pharmacare Reset: Get the Best Value for the Public Dime A “fill the gaps” approach for pharmacare that minimizes disruption for the approximately 27 million Canadians with existing private coverage and fiscal liability for the public sector was the consensus conclusion of an August C.D. Howe Institute […] 
Rosalie Wyonch, associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, joins Amber Mac to share ideas on how we can use innovation, in the face of Canada’s healthcare crisis, to ease Canada’s tied-up hospitals.   
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Introduction and Overview: This Conference Report captures findings from a C.D. Howe Institute workshop of policymakers, industry leaders, and health experts. Participants agreed that federal pharmacare funding should focus on reducing coverage gaps and out-of-pocket costs for the uninsured and underinsured, rather than replacing Canada’s mixed public-private system. This approach avoids disruption for the 27 […] 
From: Will FalkTo: Healthcare AI WatchersDate: September 17, 2025Re: The Role of AI in Care Teams: To Complement, Not Substitute We hit peak AI hype this summer when The Guardian quoted 2024 Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis: “It’ll be 10 times bigger than the Industrial Revolution – and maybe 10 times faster.” I checked the quote […] 
August 21, 2025 – In response to concerns that Canada’s drug benefits system is drifting toward the dysfunctional US model, pharmacy stakeholders have petitioned to ban or regulate preferred pharmacy networks (PPNs). However, a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute finds little evidence of widespread harm by PPNs in the Canadian system. In “Friend […] 
While attachment to a primary care provider is relatively high across Canada (82 percent), it seldom translates into timely or after-hours access. In the ten provinces and the Yukon, reported access was low, with only 9 to 26 percent finding after-hours care easily accessible, and 19 to 32 percent able to get same- or next-day […]