Canada pledges C$46 billion in new healthcare funding over 10 years to fix ailing system

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s federal government said Tuesday it will provide an additional C$46.2 billion ($34.4 billion) in new funding for healthcare over 10 years, part of the latest healthcare deal as federal ministers meet with their provincial counterparts to hammer out a deal on healthcare funding.

The investment would be part of an overall C$196.1 billion increase in funding over 10 years, according to a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.

Some of the new funds promised Tuesday are unconditional; others are earmarked for certain priority areas. The federal government is asking the provinces to commit to better data gathering and sharing in order to access the increased funds.

($1 = 1.3414 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)