Canada: Premiers demand to meet Trudeau over health crisis

The leaders of Canada’s provinces have urged PM Justin Trudeau to meet them over the nation’s healthcare crisis.

Canada’s hospitals have faced significant strain, with reports of patients dying while waiting for care.

Mr Trudeau has previously said he is willing to provide more funding, but with some strings attached.

Medical treatment in Canada is publicly funded, with private non-profits owning hospitals and employing doctors, but government picking up the tab.

While the county’s universal healthcare system uses a mix of federal and provincial money, it is administered provincially.

In a joint press conference on Friday, all 13 of Canada’s premiers publicly asked Mr Trudeau to meet them early in the new year.

They renewed their request to raise the federal share of healthcare spending in Canada from 22% to 35%, accusing the Trudeau government of not paying its fair share.

“The number one issue in this entire country from coast to coast to coast is healthcare, and we can’t do it alone,” said Ontario’s premier Doug Ford.

Hospitals across Canada have faced significant pressure this year due to staffing shortages and a rise in the number of sick people requiring care. In smaller communities, the shortages have forced some emergency departments to temporarily close their doors to patients.

A surge in viral infections among children has put a strain on paediatric hospitals in recent months.

In the province of New Brunswick, protests sprung up after a man in his 70s died in an emergency department’s waiting room on Wednesday.

In a September poll, 51% of Canadians said they don’t feel confident they would receive timely care in a medical emergency.

Provincial health ministers met their federal counterpart as recently as November in Vancouver to pin down a deal on healthcare funding, but those talks collapsed.

Premiers have since accused Mr Trudeau of ignoring the issue and communicating with them via the media.

Mr Trudeau has previously said he also expects the provinces to deliver better healthcare.

“It’s not just about money,” the prime minister said last month. “It’s about creating a stronger, more robust healthcare system across the country.”

Canada spends over 10% of its GDP on healthcare, about the same as the UK, compared with more than 16% for the US, according to World Bank data.