Ottawa, Northwest Territories sign $51-million health funding agreement

“All Canadians want the same thing: a health care system that works,” federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in a media statement.

The territory says it has been able to reduce health-care staffing vacancies by one-third since the original deal was signed.

The extended agreement, announced on Monday, includes a four-year action plan to improve primary care, expand the health workforce, and support mental wellness and suicide prevention services in the territory.

“Improving access to health care in the North takes a long-term commitment and a partnership that recognizes the realities of our territory,” said Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson in a press release.

Provincial and territorial health ministers have been warning about the looming end of another pocket of funding, targeted at mental health, addictions and home care.

That $4.8 billion funding package was announced in 2023 and is set to expire in March 2027.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told reporters last week that Canadians face a “looming fiscal cliff” with “devastating consequences” for health systems, and warned that not replacing the funding would amount to the largest cut to health care in a generation.

After they held an emergency meeting last week, health ministers from across the country said they would be seeking conversations with Michel and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne ahead of the release of the federal budget this fall.

The provincial and territorial health ministers are set to meet with Michel in Winnipeg later in October.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2026.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Ottawa, Northwest Territories sign $51-million health funding agreement

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