Health ministers united in calling for federal funding certainty despite extension
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WINNIPEG – Provincial and territorial health ministers are still pushing for clarity on federal funding despite a one-year extension on some programs, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday.
Speaking as host of the meeting of ministers in Winnipeg, Asagwara said federal confirmation of the extension is a first step but nothing more.
“We are unified in stating very clearly that we need to go much further than that,” they said.
“We have been asking very consistently for full clarity on all of the bilateral agreements and the Canada Health Transfer, and we remain unified in that ask.”
Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel announced an extension of funding on social media late Wednesday. She said it represents $1.2 billion in funding for mental health, addictions and home care.
The existing funding was set to expire next year.
The funding doesn’t add any new programming and doesn’t provide the certainty needed to plan long-term, said Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
“Respectfully, I would say that a one-year extension of an existing 10-year (agreement) about to expire does not fill us with a lot of joy.”
Michel said in her letter confirming the extension that it provides stability as the federal government works to strengthen the health-care system.
She said she looks forward to collaborative discussions Friday, when she meets with provincial and territorial counterparts in Winnipeg.
Asagwara said provinces and territories could continue to ask for long-term commitments on bilateral agreements and push for the Canada Health Transfer to grow at a minimum of five per cent, rather than the three per cent it’s set to drop to in 2028.
“We are all in the same boat here that we are still facing an enormous fiscal cliff,” they said.
“We do not have clarity, and in every single jurisdiction, every single minister here can tell you stories about how these potential cuts would affect real Canadians, would affect real families, real services, real jobs and would have very real consequences.”
Groups, including the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, have also been pushing for more reliable federal funding, saying health-care funding is a foundational investment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.
Note to readers:This is a corrected story. An earlier version used an incorrect pronoun for Uzoma Asagwara.