Canada’s biggest national health care gathering issues call to action to federal parties: candidates must fight for health care and protect what we value

Press Release

March 28, 2025

More than 1,000 Canadian doctors, leading health care experts and patients gathered in Ottawa and virtually for the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) Health Summit to outline the solutions to fix health care, and the work ahead in this federal election.

Canadians are very concerned about the threats from the Trump administration, they shouldn’t also need to worry about whether health care will be there for them when they need it. “There’s nothing more Canadian than our commitment to care for each other,” says Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the CMA. “An election campaign is the perfect moment for political leaders to take a firm stance in favor of our publicly funded health care system and to show people that they will fight for what truly matters to Canadians.”

With Canadian productivity being a central part of the conversation during this campaign, the Health Summit participants also highlighted that an efficient health care system is key to ensure Canada’s overall performance. Investing in innovative solutions and making the system more agile can only lead to positive outcomes for everyone: a healthy population leads to a healthy economy. Some actionable solutions include:

• Adopting team-based care to help doctors focus on what they do best and improve access to care for patients.
• Allowing doctors to work in different provinces and territories and better respond to patient needs.
• Making it easier to share information so doctors can share it with patients and each other.
• Getting rid of unnecessary administrative tasks and make other paperwork easier with new technologies such as AI.
• Acknowledging the right of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples to make their own decisions about health care.
• Fast-tracking the process for doctors trained in other countries to practice in Canada.
• Supporting the fight against the rise of false health-related information that can and does harm Canadians.

The last few weeks have shown us that collaboration across provincial, territorial and federal governments is doable. Health is no exception. It’s time for our leaders to join forces to implement a strategy that will change the trajectory of our health care system once and for all. The country’s medical community expects a firm commitment to real health care solutions from all candidates. Change starts now and the CMA will be at the forefront of the battle for Canadians.

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