Posts by Children's Healthcare Canada

Yesterday, the Government of Alberta tabled legislation invoking the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield from legal challenge previous laws targeting transgender youth and adults. Among these measures is a 2024 law which prohibits doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16 for the purposes of gender affirmation.

The federal budget has been tabled, and the Liberals are hard at work getting the votes to pass it this week. The budget includes important investments in health infrastructure, affordability, and youth employment. However, for children, most of the announced funding measures are too downstream to make a difference for them.  

Ottawa, October 1, 2025 — Chronic underfunding and under-resourcing of children’s healthcare in Canada yield significant and measurable costs for children and youth, their families and indeed, Canada.  A new report commissioned by Children’s Healthcare Canada and Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations and conducted by Deloitte, the first national economic analysis of the return on investment in children’s healthcare in Canada, finds that the nation’s pediatric health systems are stretched thin, yet every dollar invested in children’s healthcare generates up to a nearly five-fold return. 

In Fall 2024, the Alberta government tabled legislation prohibiting the delivery of gender-affirming care to minors. Children’s Healthcare Canada strongly opposes any legislation that interferes with the autonomy of licensed physicians to make healthcare decisions in close collaboration with patients and their families. In addition to concerns compromising the patient-provider relationship, this legislation will most certainly negatively impact the physical, mental and sexual health of children and youth in the province.  

As the year draws to a close, Children's Healthcare Canada is reflecting on opportunities to improve experiences and outcomes of healthcare for children and youth in Canada.