Our President, Dr. Randy Guzman, met recently with Finance Minister Adrien Sala to discuss our recommendations for this year’s provincial budget. 

WHY IT MATTERS: Based on physician feedback, we are advocating for urgent, cost-effective actions to help doctors improve patient care. The provincial government is currently finalizing the 2025/26 budget, and we submitted cost-conscious recommendations to expand capacity.

• Dr. Guzman emphasized that we recognize the highly unpredictable economic waters the government is navigating, and thus proposed cost-effective strategies to improve medical care. This includes low-cost and no-cost actions. 

• He also emphasized that physicians are very concerned about access to care. In fact, a recent survey we conducted found that 92% of doctors are concerned delays in accessing care mean some of their patients experience poorer medical outcomes.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Minister Sala was engaged, asked insightful questions about our recommendations, and discussed the government’s priorities and challenges:

• First, he reassured us that while the government is focused on responding to the economic threats from U.S. import tariffs, health care remains a top priority for his government.

• Second, he said the government is still on a path to balancing the budget during their mandate and is concerned about escalating health care costs. He asked how we could work together on reducing unnecessary testing.

• He also asked about increased spending on physician services, which we pointed out was largely driven by massive increases in volumes enabled by physician recruitment. In fact, the Premier announced recently that we appear to be on track for a record-breaking year for doctor recruitment, and more doctors means more volumes and more patient access.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING: The provincial budget is expected in the next few weeks. We will be watching for action on at least some of our recommendations, which include:

• Expand access: Add 1 million patient visits next year, including family medicine, and surgical and internal medicine specialists through actions like eliminating sick notes, investing in team-based care, and recruiting more doctors.

• Boost surgeries: Eliminate the pandemic backlog and keep up with population growth.

• Increase diagnostics: Expand lab, pathology, and imaging capacity.

You can see our full evidence-backed action plan here, rooted in physician advice.

THE URGENCY: 79% of doctors say they can improve access with these types of actions. But funding remains a major concern:

• 53% of physicians now see underfunding in the health system as a serious threat to patient care — up from 41% last year. This comes from our 2025 Annual Physician Survey, conducted last month, with responses from 1,494 doctors.

• Our previous survey found 92% of doctors are concerned that delays in accessing care result in some of their patients experiencing poorer medical outcomes.

BOTTOM LINE: We’re pushing for strategic investments to expand access and improve care while ensuring cost-effectiveness. The government is listening, and we’ll keep advocating for urgent action.