The Canadian federal government has unveiled a comprehensive budget plan aimed at enhancing the country’s healthcare system and recruiting international talent. We applaud this budget’s multi-million dollar recruitment efforts at Black universities. That includes $120 million over 12 years to bring in tenured international assistant professors, beginning in 2026-27. It provides $133.6 million over three years. This funding is intended to allow for the rapid relocation of top doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows to Canada, as early as this fiscal year.
To bolster the research landscape, the budget introduces a $1 billion initiative over 13 years to attract international researchers to Canadian universities, starting in 2025-26. This strategic move bolsters Canadian innovation to the core. Secondly, it addresses critical labor shortages and helps to attract and retain top talent in sectors of utmost importance, such as healthcare and research.
The budget includes the creation of a new Health Infrastructure Fund. This fund will distribute $5 billion over the next three years to projects focused on improving community health. This fund is designed to support provincial and territorial infrastructure projects aimed at modernizing healthcare facilities, which have faced criticism for being outdated and ill-equipped to handle the challenges posed by climate change.
Further, the central government intends to ease the path from employment to settlement for H-1B visa holders. This will in turn facilitate their access to work permits in Canada. This decision is a direct response to recent developments in U.S. immigration policy that have raised astronomically high fees for employers to hire H-1B visa holders. U.S. President Donald Trump previously signed a proclamation requiring companies to pay a fee of US$100,000 for each H-1B visa.
The recent federal budget underscored how important recruiting international talent is to address growing gaps in the Canadian workforce. A key goal of their program is to attract more than 1,000 talented researchers to Canada. Margot Burnell, president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), highlighted the pressing need for more healthcare professionals, particularly among international graduates.
“Canada’s health care facilities are among the oldest public infrastructures in use today: almost 50 per cent of health care facilities were built over 50 years ago,” – Margot Burnell, CMA president.
The budget reflects a positive recognition of these infrastructure challenges and a commitment to tackle them. Burnell noted that “the infrastructure funding announced today is a step in the right direction to creating new health facilities and fixing up the aging hospitals and clinics that Canadians depend on.”
Assuming the fiscal plan clears the House of Commons, the new Health Infrastructure Fund would start in 2026-27. It’s meant to be in addition to the direct health-related support the federal government is already giving to provinces and territories. According to the federal budget document, “This fund will complement existing health-related support provided to provinces and territories by helping to ensure their health infrastructure, such as hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care centres, and medical schools, will be able to respond to the health care needs of Canadians.”
Along with these substantial, strategic investments, the federal budget calls for changes in reimbursement rates for medical cannabis. Set at around $8.50 per gram at the moment, the government intends to lower this rate to $6 per gram. This change brings reimbursement in line with market value. It further ensures that patients who rely on medical cannabis are able to continue accessing their medicine.
Overall, the 2025 federal budget reflects a forward-looking approach aimed at rejuvenating Canada’s healthcare infrastructure and attracting global talent essential for the country’s future growth and competitiveness.
