Carney to announce new health minister next week

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be moving forward on his health care agenda in the coming weeks, starting with naming a new minister of health as part of his Cabinet, which will be revealed next week.

Health Minister Kamal Khera lost her Brampton West riding in the April 28 election. She was the first registered nurse to fill the essential role, and took over after Mark Holland announced he would not be seeking re-election. 

The Canadian Health Coalition will be looking for a health minister who is committed to federal leadership in health care, especially enforcing the provisions of the Canada Health Act which governs the approximately $50 billion annual Canada Health Transfer to provinces and territories.

The Health Coalition has long advocated for strong accountability over provincial use of federal monies dedicated to funding public health care plans run by the provinces and territories. 

Return of Parliament on Monday, May 26

Carney provided a detailed look ahead in a press conference on May 2, his first following the election. In addition to announcing that his Cabinet is forthcoming the week of May 12, Parliament will return to Ottawa on Monday, May 26 and is scheduled to sit until late June before breaking for the summer.

While the Liberals will be returning with a minority government once again, Parliament will look much different than before the election. The two main parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, hold nearly 90 per cent of the 343 seats in the House of Commons.

The NDP lost official party status, but negotiations may take place to grant the seven-seat caucus the resources and parliamentary privileges of official standing, especially funding and influence on parliamentary committees. 

Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, May 27

The Speech from the Throne, which lays out the government’s agenda for the upcoming session, will be read by King Charles in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 27. The speech will iterate the government’s legislative and program priorities, and the Health Coalition will be listening closely for an ambitious agenda on public health care.

As it has been recent tradition, the Prime Minister’s Office will likely post publicly individual mandate letters from the Prime Minister to each Cabinet Minister, putting forward an even more detailed agenda.

Fall economic statement

The Liberals’ fully costed election platform called “Canada Strong,” along with commitments made in the Throne Speech on May 27, will provide the basis for Carney’s fiscal agenda. Carney has promised expensive tax cuts, reduced operational spending, and major increases to National Defence spending and other areas.

Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the Liberal government will not table a budget when Parliament returns in the coming weeks but will instead put forward a fall economic statement.

The NDP accused the Liberals of planning cuts to health care during the election campaign, but Carney has said he will maintain all transfers to provinces and territories and will “protect” pharmacare and expand eligibility of the Canadian Dental Care Plan to the last remaining cohort of eight million eligible people between the ages of 18 and 64 (eligibility was extended to those 55-64 years old on May 1, with more stages to come, indicating this promise will be respected).

Canada Health Act Annual report before June 13

As required by section 23 of the Canada Health Act, Health Canada produces an annual report for each fiscal year on the extent to which provincial and territorial health care insurance plans have satisfied the criteria and the conditions for payment under the Canada Health Act. 

The report must be tabled by the Health Minister within 15 sitting days of the calendar year, which requires it to be made public on or before Friday, June 13. 

The Canadian Health Coalition is watching for the 2023-24 report to learn how closely provinces and territories have been respecting the Canada Health Act, and the federal government’s intentions to withhold funding in order to enforce provincial compliance.

In the coming weeks, I will be providing more information about the Liberal election commitments on public health care, detailing risks and opportunities for public health care. In the meanwhile, watch Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement on public health care on April 21, 2025 in Charlottetown, available on CPAC.

(This article was updated on May 14 to include the government’s plan to not release a budget when Parliament returns, issuing a fall economic statement instead.)