This op-ed was written by Friends of Medicare's executive director, Chris Gallaway, and originally published in the Calgary Herald on October 1, 2026.
If you ask Canadians what makes us different from our American neighbours, the vast majority will say that it’s our public health care; that in Canada we care for each other.
That’s not just anecdotal. Recent polling released by Abacus Data for the Canadian Health Coalition shows that 85 per cent of Canadians agree that universal health care based on a person’s need, not how much money they have, is a core Canadian value. And 91 per cent say they’re feeling concerned about the future of public health care.
But this isn’t just a feel-good Canadian value. Our public health-care system is also our economic advantage. It’s our best competitive asset compared to our neighbours to the south — creating jobs, saving businesses money, and ensuring a healthier workforce that lives longer.
A recent report by economist Jim Stanford titled “The Economic Benefits of Canada’s Public Healthcare System” laid this out clearly, concluding that every dollar spent on public health care is a boost to our economy. And because health care isn’t highly integrated into international trade, it is relatively protected from global disruptions and shocks such as current U.S. trade policy changes.
It’s a clear reminder that strengthening public health care is a nation-building project.
Yet, in Alberta, our government is full steam ahead implementing legislation that dismantles our single-payer, public medicare. Premier Danielle Smith’s plan for so-called “dual practice”, meaning that physicians can work within the public and private systems simultaneously, is nothing more than a catchy rebranding of two-tier American-style health care.
Alberta is creating a system where those with the ability to pay will be able to skip the queue, while everyone else is left waiting longer or going without. At the same time, they’re creating a market for the private insurance industry to start selling products that include medically necessary services already covered under our public plan.
Because that’s what this is really about. A for-profit health care and insurance industry looking for new markets. The same insurance industry that has said they’re working hand-in-hand with the Alberta government to implement these changes.
We border the American private health care market, with some of the most profitable corporations in the world eager at the prospect of Canadian health care being open for business. Elbows up means keeping them out.
Alberta’s plan is also a blatant violation of the Canada Health Act. Legal opinions publicly released over the summer have reinforced this. These issues have already been thoroughly litigated in our courts. There is no ambiguity here: what Alberta is doing goes against the very idea of universal public healthcare.
So where is our federal government? Where is the leadership to protect this core Canadian value?
It’s the responsibility of our federal health minister to enforce the Canada Health Act, and historically the federal government has always acted to defend public health care. They did so when intervening in the Cambie Case. And even Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government said they would act if Alberta Premier Ralph Klein moved forward with implementing his planned “Third Way”, an abandoned proposal strikingly similar to today’s “dual practice.’
Yet, for over nine months, Health Minister Marjorie Michel has refused to publicly state Alberta’s legislation violates the Canada Health Act, let alone that her government will do anything to enforce the Act if Alberta proceeds.
This simply isn’t good enough. Albertans deserve to know our universal access to health care will be protected the same as all other Canadians.
Tariffs, mill closures, boycotts, separatist referendums, the ongoing trade war and talk of the “the 51st state” — many Albertans are feeling stressed, concerned about their livelihood and anxious about our very sovereignty.
Strong leadership on public health care right now would protect our sovereignty, strengthen our economy and clearly show Albertans the value in having a Canadian government.