Seniors
Seniors
Seniors
Highlights
- The government reaffirms that access to health services has been one of its top priorities since 2018.
- Health spending rose by 52% between 2018-2019 and 2024-2025, an average annual growth rate of 7.3%.
- In his speech, the Minister of Finance states that the government has “the responsibility to return to more moderate levels of growth and to continue improving services through efficiency and organizational gains.”
- More specifically, regarding seniors, he states that “in a context of a growing and aging population, continuing to improve the public health and social services system is a major challenge for public finances,” and that “the recent arrival of Santé Québec will make it possible to modernize the governance of the health system by optimizing the management of activities.”
- The budget provides $3.9B over 5 years in additional investments 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 and alternative homes;
- $50M to accelerate the digital shift at the RAMQ;
- $37.5M to train more doctors.
- From 2018-2019 to 2025-2026, the number of authorized entry positions for medical residency rose from 845 to 984 (541 positions in family medicine and 443 in specialized medicine), an increase of 16.5%.
Living environments for seniors
- Of the $3.9B in additional health investments announced, $318M over 5 years is dedicated to funding the harmonization of care and services in public and private CHSLDs ($288.2M) and to “protecting people who live in RPAs” by extending until 2027 the financial assistance program for installing sprinklers in RPAs.
- The budget plan states that “given the challenges of an aging population, the Department of Health and Social Services, in collaboration with the Department of Finance, will continue its review to optimize the funding allocated to keep seniors with diminishing autonomy in their living environments, while ensuring better financial predictability for RPAs.”
Prevention
- Also within the $3.9B, $269M is earmarked notably to expand vaccination among vulnerable populations ($243.7M) and to implement the integrated national health prevention strategy ($15M).
Health infrastructure
- $24.7B in the 2025-2035 Québec Infrastructure Plan (QIP) for the Health and Social Services portfolio, which includes:
- The construction, expansion and redevelopment of hospitals, seniors’ homes and alternative homes, as well as maintaining existing infrastructure.
- 43% of these investments are for existing infrastructure and 57% for new infrastructure.