Category: Health

October 2, 2026 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Health Canada

As populations and the cost of drugs continue to grow, the Government of Canada and Prince Edward Island (PEI) are working together to make it easier for Islanders to access the prescription medications they need, while helping to reduce the cost of living.

Today, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, on behalf of the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Premier of PEI, Rob Lantz, and the Honourable Cory Deagle, Minister of Health and Wellness for PEI, announced the government intention to invest over $32 million over three years to support the Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs Program (IAAPD) in PEI.

The IAAPD program, launched in 2021, has funded targeted reforms to PEI’s public drug programs. PEI received $35 million (2021-22 to 2025-26) to expand its public formulary (list of publicly covered drugs) to broaden treatment options for Islanders and better align with public drug plans in other provinces and territories, lower out-of-pocket costs for residents, and gather insights and lessons learned. As of March 2025, the IAAPD has saved Islanders $13.8 million.

Extending the IAAPD will  allow PEI to maintain the improvements it has made to its public drug coverage system and help reduce the cost of living for its residents.

September 28, 2026 | Ottawa, Ontario | Health Canada

Today, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, announced the appointment of Crystal Lennie to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council.

Ms. Lennie brings extensive experience in Indigenous health and community development to the Governing Council. An Inuvialuit beneficiary from Inuvik, Northwest Territories, she holds a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion from the University of Alberta. She has worked with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, served as Co-Chair of the Inuit Public Health Task Group, and contributed to national Indigenous health initiatives, community-led research, and efforts to improve health outcomes for Inuit and northern communities.

CIHR creates new scientific knowledge and enables its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

The Government of Canada is committed to appointing highly-qualified candidates to best serve the interests of Canadians and is committed to open, transparent, and merit-based processes for selecting Governor in Council appointees. Appointees play a fundamental role in Canadian democracy as they serve on commissions, boards, Crown corporations, agencies and tribunals across the country.

September 24, 2026 | Ottawa, ON | Health Canada

A cancer diagnosis comes with a lot of fear and uncertainty. Too many Canadians continue to experience this daily. Thanks to promising developments in cancer prevention, research, and treatment Canadians are experiencing improved health outcomes for certain cancers, including lower incidence and mortality rates.

Today, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, announced an $80 million investment, over four years, to the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) for its work in precision oncology research. Precision oncology is an approach to cancer care that helps doctors determine a more personalized treatment for patients based on the genetic and biological makeup of cancer cells. This personalized approach reduces harmful side effects, including reducing damage to healthy cells, and makes the treatment more likely to work.

Over the past six years, the TFRI established the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, a network of institutions working toward a national strategy for precision oncology research. The Network and the TFRI created a data repository with the genome sequences of cancerous tumors from over 16,000 patients. This data will help inform research into why some people respond to cancer treatments while others do not, which in turn could help us find better treatments for patients. Investments by the Government of Canada in this area will continue to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Network and the TFRI, reflecting a shared and sustained commitment.

Through this investment, the Government of Canada is reaffirming its commitment with the G7 to accelerate the fight against cancer and to strengthen our actions to advance cancer research.