Community Health Centres (CHCs) are community-governed, not-for-profit hubs that deliver integrated services and programs across numerous sectors including healthcare, housing and shelter, food security, employment and training, youth services, seniors services, immigration and settlement, and others. This multi-sector, multi-service approach means that CHCs fall under the mandate and jurisdiction of all levels of government.

Federal, provincial, and municipal governments each have a role to play in supporting access to CHCs for the diverse Canadian population. CACHC works collaboratively with our Community Health Centre members and provincial CHC association partners in calling on all levels of government to play their role.

The federal government currently invests in CHCs to a small degree across Canada: 53% of CHCs across Canada receive some form of federal government funding, and from diverse federal agencies. However, these are mostly non-recurring grants, and the federal government does not have a coordinated strategy for these investments in CHCs.

CACHC is calling for an improved federal government response:

• Establish a Community Health Centres secretariat within the federal government and identify federal health and social development strategies where CHCs should serve as an implementation mechanism.
• Allocate dedicated funding within all forthcoming health and social transfers to the provinces/territories for implementation of new CHCs and to increase capacity at existing CHCs.
• Invest a minimum of $100 million from 2021 – 2025 in community infrastructure projects at existing and new CHCs across Canada.
• Invest a minimum of $20 million from 2021 – 2025 to support adoption of CHC-based innovations at other CHCs across Canada.

• Impact of CHCs During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Improving Uptake of Vaccines Across Canada: CVP-National Project Report  (2021-2023)
• Letter to Prime Minister and Premiers from CACHC and Provincial Community Health Centre associations (Feb 2023)
• CACHC welcomes recommendation for major federal investment in Community Health Centres (Sept 2022)
• CACHC’s 2021 Call to Action for Federal Government and all political parties
• Community Health Centres and COVID-19: Impact and Experiences from the Pandemic (July 2021)
• Infographic: Community Health Centres: Healthy People, Healthy Communities
• Video: Community Health Centres: Healthy People, Healthy Communities