Children's Healthcare Canada Releases Start Strong Playbook: Calls for C$10 Billion National Child Health Transfer Over 10 Years
Children's Healthcare Canada (CHC) released a national policy playbook, Start Strong: Developing the Playbook for Healthy, Vibrant Children and Youth, in Ottawa on November 3, calling on federal, provincial and territorial governments to work together to transform how Canada designs and delivers healthcare for children, youth and families. The report is grounded in a comprehensive national consultation process conducted in 2026, drawing on perspectives from health system leaders, researchers, clinicians, policymakers and families, and addresses the needs of Canada's 8.6 million children.
Emily Gruenwoldt, president and CEO of Children's Healthcare Canada, said there is no Canada Strong without healthy, vibrant children and youth, and that Start Strong is an invitation to federal, provincial and territorial decision-makers, healthcare providers and philanthropic partners to join in building a future fit for kids in Canada.
Start Strong outlines five principles for reform: equitable access to healthcare services across the continuum of care, a focus on lifelong health, supporting the specialized workforce that cares for kids and families, strong data and learning systems, and an integrated research agenda, with targeted recommendations for every level of government.
At the federal level, CHC calls for a National Strategy for Children and Youth across health, healthcare, education and family services, along with a National Child Health Transfer, a dedicated, ring-fenced funding stream of C$10 billion over ten years, administered through bilateral agreements with provinces and territories. For provincial and territorial governments, the playbook recommends shifting funding models away from diagnosis-driven structures, reducing silos between ministries of health, education and children and family services, and expanding community-based pediatric services to reduce over-reliance on hospitals.
CHC notes that Canada is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet the health and wellbeing outcomes of its children and youth are declining year over year, with increasingly complex needs, rising rates of neurodevelopmental conditions, mental health challenges and chronic illness within a highly diverse population. When children do not receive the right care at the right time, CHC says, the consequences extend beyond health to education, mental health, lifelong social participation and family wellbeing. The playbook cites Thrive: The Economic Case for Investing in Children's Health, conducted by Deloitte for CHC and Canada's Children's Hospital Foundations, which found that every dollar invested in children's healthcare generates up to a five-fold return through improved health outcomes, reduced costs to families and health systems, and future workforce productivity. The association called on governments at every level, parliamentarians, healthcare leaders and communities to use Start Strong as their roadmap and make children's health a national priority.
(Source: Children's Healthcare Canada)
Source: Children's Healthcare Canada
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 加拿大国会中心大楼（Centre Block），位于 Ottawa（DXR 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）
