Health
Health
Health
Highlights
- The government reaffirms that access to health services has been one of its top priorities since 2018.
- Health spending increased by 52% between 2018-2019 and 2024-2025, an average annual growth rate of 7.3%.
- In his speech, the Minister of Finance stated that the government has “the responsibility to return to more moderate growth levels and to keep improving services through efficiency and organizational gains”.
- The budget provides for $3.9B in additional investments over 5 years in health and social services, notably to consolidate access to front-line services, support vulnerable people, ensure the quality of living environments for seniors and prioritize prevention.
Access to health care and services
- Of the $3.9B in additional health investments announced, $2.2B over 5 years is earmarked to improve access to care and services, including:
- $1.5B to fund pharmaceutical treatments in hospitals (for example, certain new cancer treatments);
- $629M to roll out new health and social services facilities, including seniors’ homes (maisons des aînés) and alternative homes;
- $50M to accelerate the RAMQ’s digital shift;
- $37.5M to train more physicians.
- From 2018-2019 to 2025-2026, the number of authorized medical residency entry positions rose from 845 to 984 (541 positions in family medicine and 443 in specialized medicine), an increase of 16.5%.
Prevention
- Also within the $3.9B, $269M is earmarked, notably to expand vaccination among vulnerable groups ($243.7M) and to implement the integrated national health prevention strategy ($15M).
Health infrastructure
- $24.7B in the Québec Infrastructure Plan (QIP) 2025-2035 for the Health and Social Services portfolio, which includes:
- The construction, expansion and redevelopment of hospitals and of seniors’ homes (maisons des aînés) or alternative homes, and maintaining existing infrastructure.
- 43% of these investments are for existing infrastructure and 57% for new infrastructure.