Premiers Ask for More Health Funding, Express Hesitation on Pharmacare

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks to the media during a press conference after a meeting of the Council of the Federation, which comprises all 13 provincial and territorial leaders, in Mississauga, Ont., on Dec. 2, 2019. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders agreed Monday to press the federal government for higher increases to health-care funding, but most expressed hesitation about a national pharmacare program.

The premiers also emerged from a meeting in Mississauga, Ont., with a call to Ottawa to strengthen a program that provides a financial top-up to provincial governments suffering economic downturns—a key request of Alberta.