Canadians deserve better health care and a stronger social safety net. And, Canada's success is the success of younger generations. We're making health care more affordable and more accessible for every Canadian who needs it.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health; and the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, highlighted the federal government's action to strengthen public health care and ensure Canada's social safety net lifts up every generation.
In Budget 2024, the government is making significant investments to ensure Canadians get the care they need and deserve, and to recognize health care workers for their essential role in keeping Canadians healthy, including:
- Delivering $200 billion over 10 years to strengthen public health care, including legislating in the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, a guaranteed increase of 5 per cent per year in Canada Health Transfer payments from 2023-24 to 2027-28 to provinces and territories that are taking steps to improve the collection and management of health data. This year alone, provinces and territories are receiving $52.1 billion from the federal government through the CHT, the largest amount in history.
- Providing student loan forgiveness of up to $60,000 for doctors and $30,000 for nurses who choose to work in rural and remote communities. Budget 2024 builds on this by expanding student loan forgiveness to more rural and remote health professionals, including dentists and dental hygienists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, midwives, and personal support workers.
- Recognizing the foreign credentials of newcomers in health care and construction. Budget 2024 invested $77.1 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, to ensure every doctor and nurse who comes to Canada can contribute to improving our public health care system and reach their full potential. As part of this work, 120 new medical residency positions will be created for international medical graduates. The budget also invests $50 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to streamline the Foreign Credential Recognition Program for health care workers and construction workers. This builds on the federal government's investment earlier this year of $86 million to accelerate foreign credential recognition of 6,600 internationally educated health professionals.
- Delivering the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, to ensure every Canadian who needs it has dental coverage. Now, more than 2 million Canadian have signed up for dental coverage. Eligible seniors aged 65 and older are already able to apply. In June, coverage will be extended to children under the age of 18 and to persons with disabilities with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate. Next year, all uninsured Canadians between the ages of 18 and 64, with a family income up to $90,000, will be eligible.
- Launching a new $500 million Youth Mental Health Fund, to ensure younger generations have access to the mental health care they need and deserve by helping community health organizations provide more care and refer youth to other mental health services within their networks and partnerships. This builds on the elimination of GST on psychotherapy and counselling therapy services announced in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement.
- Tackling Supply Shortages of Essential Drugs and Medical Devices, with $3.2 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for Health Canada to strengthen supply management capacity for drugs and medical devices, and mitigate effects of shortages when supply chains fail.
Our transformative investments to strengthen Canada's social safety net-from dental care to pharmacare for free contraceptives and free insulin-are about ensuring our social safety net lifts up every generation, while we strengthen universal public health care too. We're giving every child the best start in life and making government work in a way that helps Millennials and Gen Z reach their full potential, and making sure every trained health professional can contribute their skills. This is about fairness for every generation.
With the support and collaboration of Parliamentarians, the government is determined to pass the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, to deliver investments in Canadians-including stronger health care-as soon as possible.
