‘Largest cut to health care in a generation is right in front of us’

Manitoba’s health minister is warning of possible cuts to health care with $1.2 billion in annual funding from Ottawa set to expire next year.

“We’re very concerned that what would be the largest cut to health care in a generation is right in front of us,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. “It means that services that Manitobans depend on will be in jeopardy and be at risk.

“Any reductions, any cuts from Canada, will have direct impacts on the health outcomes of Manitobans.”

Asagwara, who serves as the provincial and territorial health minister lead, chaired a meeting Monday with provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss federal funding for health care, mental health care and substance use services, which is scheduled to expire March 31, 2027.

Provincial and territorial ministers want Ottawa to renew the funding as part of the upcoming federal budget and maintain at least five per cent annual growth in the Canada Health Transfer after March 2028.

The federal government was invited to Monday’s meeting but declined to participate, according to a joint news release issued Thursday.

“We haven’t gotten clarity or reassurance from Canada that these dollars are going to flow to all of our jurisdictions,” Asagwara said. “And these aren’t just dollars. These are real people. These are jobs, these are services, these are programs that deliver high-quality care across this country, certainly in Manitoba.”

In a statement to the Free Press, a spokesperson for federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Ottawa continues to work closely with provinces and territories and noted that funding agreements are often established for fixed periods so they can be reviewed.

The spokesperson did not say whether the $1.2 billion would be renewed. No rationale was given for Michel not being at the meeting.

“Minister Michel approaches that process collaboratively and looks forward to meeting with her counterparts in Winnipeg on Oct. 16,” the spokesperson said, referring to an upcoming gathering of health ministers later this month.

Following a First Ministers meeting in July, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the premiers directed federal, provincial and territorial health and finance ministers to work together on long-term health funding and health-system productivity, the spokesperson said.

Ottawa also pointed to the more than $200 billion in health funding over 10 years announced in 2023, as well as an additional $250 million committed between 2025 and 2029 for targeted provincial and territorial health initiatives, including foreign credential recognition, youth mental health and bilingual digital health tools.

The federal government also cited $5 billion committed in its 2025 budget to improve health infrastructure across the country.

Manitoba Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, the provincial and territorial lead for mental health, addictions and recovery, also participated in Monday’s meeting, along with several provincial and territorial finance ministers.

The ministers said the $1.2 billion has helped fund mental health and addictions services and home and community care across the country over the past decade.

They said those investments have also supported thousands of health-care jobs and pointed to economic analysis from the University of Toronto that found federal health investments have produced returns exceeding the annual federal funding.

The ministers said the funding has contributed to expanded integrated youth services, improved mental health outcomes and reductions in potentially avoidable admissions to long-term care.

They warned those services and jobs could be put at risk if Ottawa allows the funding to expire.

Asagwara plans to seek meetings with Michel and federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to discuss the provinces’ concerns.

— with files from Maggie Macintosh

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca