Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to sign a health-care agreement with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on Feb. 15. Last year, the two governments agreed in principle on a plan that would see $1.22 billion in federal money flow to the province over 10 years for shared health-care priorities. The agreement also laid out $72 million for an immediate one-time top-up to address urgent issues such as long wait lists for surgeries.
Ottawa announced $196 billion in funding over the next 10 years for provinces and territories to improve access to health care, with about $46 billion of that being new money. That funding includes increases to the federal health transfer and $25 billion for tailored one-on-one agreements targeting specific needs in different jurisdictions over a decade. In exchange, provinces and territories were asked to improve data sharing and measure their progress.
Manitoba would be the seventh province or territory to formally sign on to the accord, following British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories. All provinces and territories have agreed to the health accord in principle except for Quebec, which has balked at being accountable to Ottawa for how money is spent. The NDP government in Manitoba was elected last October, with one of their main campaign promises being to improve health care and hire more professionals.