Minister Khera highlights budget investments to strengthen public health care and support health workers

April 12, 2023              Thunder Bay, Ontario              Employment and Social Development Canada

Through Budget 2023 – A Made-in-Canada Plan, the Government of Canada is making investments that will support a stronger middle class, an affordable economy, and a healthy future for Canadians.

Today, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors, and Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay - Rainy River Marcus Powlowski, met with students at Confederation College in Thunder Bay to discuss how Budget 2023’s investments will help millions of Canadians, including health care professionals and students.

To strengthen Canada’s universal public health care system, the Budget delivers $198.3 billion, including $77 billion in Ontario, to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services, and ensure provinces and territories can provide the high-quality and timely health care Canadians expect and deserve. Budget 2023 also introduces the new Canadian Dental Care Plan. It will help up to 9 million Canadians and ensure no Canadian has to choose between taking care of their health and paying the bills at the end of the month.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $13 billion over five years, starting in 2023–24, and $4.4 billion ongoing, to Health Canada to implement the new Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan will provide dental coverage for uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000, with no co‑pays for those with family incomes under $70,000. The plan is expected to begin rolling out by the end of 2023 and will be administered by Health Canada, with support from a third‑party benefits administrator.

Canada's health workers are the backbone of our health care system, but they are currently experiencing unprecedented challenges, which is why Budget 2023 includes funding to better support them. Together with provinces and territories, work is underway to improve conditions for health workers so that they can keep doing what they do best – keeping patients healthy. Personal support workers (PSWs), for example, take important care of people and deserve to be fairly paid. Budget 2023 includes $1.7 billion over five years to support hourly wage increases for these workers and related professions.

The Government of Canada continues to support doctors and nurses with our investments, including initiatives like the expansion of the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural or remote communities.

With these significant investments in Budget 2023, and the ongoing work with provinces, territories, and health partners, we will continue to support health workers and our public health care system as they are essential to our well-being—and are an important foundation of a growing, healthy economy.

Canada has made a remarkable recovery from the COVID recession. Canada’s economic growth was the strongest in the G7 over the last year, and today, 830,000 more Canadians are employed than before the pandemic. Inflation in Canada has fallen for eight months in a row and our unemployment rate is near its record low. Supported by a Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and childcare, the labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 reached a record high of 85.7% in February.

Budget 2023 builds on this important progress.

With a responsible fiscal plan that will see Canada maintain the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, Budget 2023 will help to build a Canada that is more secure, more sustainable and more affordable for people from coast to coast to coast.

“I have never been more optimistic about the future of our country than I am today. Budget 2023 will deliver: new, targeted inflation relief for the Canadians who need it most; stronger public health care, including dental care for millions of Canadians; and significant investments to build Canada’s clean economy. At a challenging time in a challenging world, there is no better place to be than Canada.”

– The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

"As a nurse, I witnessed firsthand the challenges that our healthcare system faced, particularly during the pandemic. Our federal government is taking leadership by making historic investments through Budget 2023 to strengthen our publicly funded healthcare system, and this includes $1.7 billion to support wages increases for personal support workers. These investments will help ensure Canadians can access the high quality, public, and timely health care they deserve.”

– The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors

“Canadians deserve access to high-quality healthcare that meets their needs. Through Budget 2023, we are making significant investments to ensure a timely access to high-quality care, support our healthcare workforce, and collect, share, and use health information to strengthen and improve the delivery of health care.”

– Marcus Powlowski, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay - Rainy River

"As an educator of important front line healthcare providers like Personal Support Workers, Nurses and Dental Hygienists and Assistants, we welcome this significant investment in our healthcare system and know it will help alleviate current staffing shortages. We are also thrilled to know a Canadian Dental Care Plan to support uninsured Canadians gain access to important dental care is becoming a reality."

–  Kathleen Lynch, President, Confederation College Confederation College

For media enquiries, please contact:

Alisson Lévesque
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors
[email protected]

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
[email protected]
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