POLITICS AND THE HEALTHCARE POLICY ARENA IN CANADA: DIAGNOSING THE SITUATION, EVALUATING SOLUTIONS

From a political perspective, healthcare in Canada is a strange policy arena indeed. On the one hand, it represents a core function of modern states worldwide. For Canadians, having a reliable healthcare system that is universally available and publicly funded continues to be a national aspiration and at the top of their political priorities. And yet, on the other hand, there is little in the way of a pan-Canadian health policy, nor is there a national “medicare” system. It bears repeating, lest we forget, that healthcare policy remains primarily and primordially in the realm of provincial government responsibilities, both in