OTTAWA — The Northwest Territories has signed an agreement with Ottawa for $51.2 million in health-care funding over seven years to improve access to primary care and mental health care. The two governments also have set aside more than $100 million in infrastructure funding to build or rehabilitate health facilities in 12 communities. In 2023, following widespread health system issues during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government announced that it had earmarked $200 billion over 10 years to improve access to primary care, reduce wait times and improve mental health and substance use services. The initial three-year funding agreements with provinces and territories have now expired and Ottawa is negotiating extensions. “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
