Trudeau will present premiers with detailed health funding proposal at Feb. 7 meeting

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acquiesced to the demands of premiers on Wednesday and agreed to meet with them in Ottawa next month, where he will present provincial and territorial leaders with a detailed and long-term health care funding plan.

At the closing press conference of his cabinet retreat in Hamilton, Mr. Trudeau said his government’s long-awaited response to demands for a 35-per-cent increase in health care funding will be presented at the Feb. 7 gathering.

The premiers have been demanding a meeting with the Prime Minister since December and first requested the increase more than two years ago. Until recently the federal government had been non-committal on substantive changes. Ottawa’s direct contribution to provincial and territorial health care programs is currently about 22 per cent.

The government’s plans for a new health accord were a key agenda item during cabinet’s three-day planning session. In their closing comments, Mr. Trudeau and his ministers made clear that a significant increase in spending is on the table but did not disclose any specifics on the amount or timeframe for the agreement.

Health care systems across the country buckled during the pandemic and have not yet recovered. People are going without access to primary care and enduring long waiting times and hospitals are beset by massive surgery backlogs, staffing shortages and clogged emergency rooms.

Mr. Trudeau said he wants to reach a deal that will improve the system “right now” and at the same time ensure Canadians can rely on a “public, universal model for decades to come.”

Still, he played down expectations for the meeting, saying agreements won’t be concluded the same day the government will be tabling its proposal. “It’s a working meeting, it will not be time for celebrations,” he said in French.

He added that the government has identified an “appropriate amount” for the funding agreement. Details of the government’s plans, including the dollar amount, have not been shared with premiers, Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson told CTV Power Play Wednesday. Ms. Stefanson is the chair of the Council of the Federation, which represents premiers. She said she welcomed the meeting with Mr. Trudeau.

In Victoria, B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters Wednesday that he welcomed the talks but hoped for a faster timeline, with the leaders confirming an overall agreement on Feb. 7 and bilateral deals soon after.

After speaking with the Prime Minister on Tuesday evening, Quebec’s François Legault told reporters Wednesday that the behind-the-scenes talks have been progressing well.

“We have been asking the federal government for years to present an agreement on the table and, well, Justin told me he will present an agreement,” Mr. Legault said. The Quebec Premier said the only help he wants from Ottawa is funding.

“I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to conclude an agreement to increase funding for health care,” Mr. Legault said.

The hopeful note marks a change in tone from last year when premiers were increasingly frustrated with Ottawa as they struggled to deal with their strained health care networks. In November, another attempt to strike a deal ended in acrimony, with health ministers rejecting proposals from their federal counterpart, Jean-Yves Duclos.

In exchange for billions in new money, the provinces and territories will have to agree to national accountability measures and reforms to improve their health care systems. Quebec and Ontario initially objected to Ottawa’s demands, but this month they agreed to accept the conditions, including the creation of a national health data system.

Ottawa’s talks have been led by Mr. Duclos and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. He told reporters Wednesday his government will present “detailed and significant proposals” that address the common priorities of provinces and territories. There will be one overarching agreement to increase the Canada Health Transfer and Ottawa will also strike bilateral agreements to address particular provincial and territorial needs, Mr. LeBlanc said.

Those side deals will address things such as geographical differences and virtual care, he said.

Mr. Duclos noted that most provinces are sitting on healthy bottom lines and while the talks for the next deal are under way, the premiers will get a 10-per-cent increase in health transfers in March through the current accord. Mr. LeBlanc said he expects the agreements will be quickly completed after the meeting with the Prime Minister and before the federal budget is tabled.

During the most recent federal election campaign, the Liberals pledged billions in new spending for primary care and a dedicated mental health care transfer. They also pledged hundreds of millions to expand virtual care and health care access in rural areas. Those promises were not budgeted in the government’s postelection budget last year.

In Ottawa on Wednesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre refused to say whether he supports increasing the federal health transfer. He said his priorities would be to reduce waiting times, recruit more doctors and nurses in part by recognizing foreign credentials, and accelerate the approval of new medicines and treatments. He did not explain how he would achieve those goals.

He also didn’t answer a reporter’s question on what role he sees for private health care in Canada.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Nanaimo, B.C., that the federal government’s drawn-out talks with the provinces do not reflect the urgency of the health care crisis. He also said he is disturbed by Mr. Trudeau’s lack of opposition to plans in Ontario and Alberta to expand private service delivery within publicly funded health care systems.

With a report from Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel