Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2026 Federal Budget

Children living in Canada face significant barriers accessing timely, equitable, high-quality healthcare services. Surging wait times for time-sensitive, essential services, a mental health crisis, outdated capital and digital infrastructure, and widening inequities all contribute to worsening health outcomes for children and youth in Canada. UNICEF’s Report Card 19 (2025) ranked Canada 24th of 36 high-income countries with respect to children’s physical health and 33rd of 36 on a metric of adolescent suicide—despite boasting a top ten economy. Countries that consistently outperform Canada on children’s health and well-being prioritize children in national policy, invest sustainably, and hold leadership accountable for outcomes.

Recommendations

Children’s Healthcare Canada and the Pediatric Chairs of Canada recommend four federal actions in Budget 2026 to improve health outcomes for Canada’s eight million children and youth:

1. Build strong, Canadian children's healthcare systems through an investment of $10 billion over ten years, targeting infrastructure renewal, a national funding framework that recognizes the complexity involved in the delivery of children’s healthcare, and a pan-Canadian pediatric workforce plan.
2. Reshape and expand federal commitment to $5 billion over ten years for child and youth mental health, supporting integration of care across hospital, community, and school-based services from birth.
3. Prioritize child and youth health-focused research with an investment of $33 million to support CIHR-funded research and sustained child health data collection through the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY).
4. Strengthen funding for Jordan's Principle, the Inuit Child First Initiative, and reform the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program, so Indigenous children can access care without harmful delays.