DSCI 321 - Health Analytics Library Research Guide

The organization of Canada's health care system is largely determined by the Canadian Constitution, in which roles and responsibilities are divided between the federal, and provincial and territorial governments. The provincial and territorial governments have most of the responsibility for delivering health and other social services. The federal government is also responsible for some delivery of services for certain groups of people.

Prior to the mid-to-late 20th century, healthcare delivery in Canada was largely a privately funded undertaking, with some funding coming from provincial and federal governments, health insurance programs such as Blue Cross, and health insurance available through labour unions, fraternal societies, lodges, and mutual benefit societies that provided reimbursement of some hospital bills to their members.

It was a precarious time for Canadians in terms of healthcare. They faced uncertain financial times when it came to healthcare daily due to the possibility of debilitating physical and economic consequences because of disease and illness, accidents (much of it workplace related), and disability. 

In 1965, the Canadian Medicare system (French assurance-maladie) was established. 

The Canada Health Transfer (CHT) is the largest federal transfer to the provinces and territories. It is how the federal government provides health care funding to the provinces and territories as outlined in the Canada Health Act.

The provincial and territorial governments provide the majority of funding (78%) and administrate healthcare delivery in Canada. The federal government provides 22% of healthcare funding via the Canada Health Transfer. When Medicare was established in 1965, the federal government provided 35% of the budget for the program. 

To secure the increased CHT funding outlined in the 2023 agreement, provinces and territories must commit to:

• improving health care information collection and reporting;

• developing and using comparable performance indicators via the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI); and

• adopting common standards and policies on health data.