At a glance: Departmental Evaluation Plan for Health Canada 2024-25 to 2028-29
The OAE Departmental Evaluation Plan for Health Canada describes the Program Evaluation Division's (PED) scheduled work for the five-year period from 2024-25 to 2028-29. The Plan was developed to meet Health Canada's commitments under the Policy on Results (2016), which requires that each department prepare a five-year plan, updated annually.
The projects included in this Plan were selected to ensure full coverage of all grants and contributions spending over $5 million annually over a five-year period, and that prior commitments in Treasury Board (TB) submissions were met, as well as addressing the information needs of program management, coverage of program risks, and optimal use of resources. The Departmental Results Framework, program inventory, and performance information profiles developed by Health Canada have formed the basis for this Plan.
This Departmental Evaluation Plan (DEP) ensures that the Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) continues to meet its reporting commitments under the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and any commitments, while also addressing key risks and senior management and program management information needs.
Planning for evaluation
Over the next five years, OAE plans to conduct 33 evaluations that involve Health Canada: 23 will focus on Health Canada activities and one (1) evaluation will examine the activities of both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The remaining nine (9) projects are horizontal evaluations, three (3) of which are led by Health Canada, and the remaining six (6) projects are led by other government departments or agencies. A yearly breakdown is provided in Table 1. Table 2 outlines the direct program spending (DPS) by core responsibility for all scheduled evaluations for the next five (5) years.
Table 1 – Number of evaluations per fiscal year
| Lead | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Canada | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| Health Canada and PHAC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Horizontal (HC-led) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Horizontal (OGD-led) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 6 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 33 |
Table 2 – Coverage of direct program spending (DPS)
Note: To obtain detailed estimates on program budgets, annual data for 2024-25 is presented. This financial data was extracted by the Chief Financial Officer Branch on February 1, 2024. As a result, these budget figures may not fully align with those contained in other corporate reporting documents such as the Departmental Plan, the Departmental Results Report, or the Three-Year Transfer Payment Program Plan.
| Program (Core Responsibility) |
Evaluations planned in the next five years | Fiscal year of approval | 2024-25 spending covered by evaluation ($) | Rationale for not evaluating program or spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care Systems ($7,439,815,239) | ||||
| Responsive Health Care Systems ($5,027,063,350) |
COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreements Program | 2024-25 | $0 | N/A |
| Accessibility, Affordability and Appropriate Use of Drugs and Devices | 2026-27 | $517,186,435 | N/A | |
| Healthy People and Communities - Vulnerable Populations | 2026-27 | $35,000,000 | N/A | |
| Solutions Fund | 2026-27 | $0 | N/A | |
| Quality Health Data, Science and Evidence | 2027-28 | $87,370,671 | N/A | |
| Quality Health Care Delivery | 2027-28 | $52,118,859 | N/A | |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-29 | $19,373,590 | N/A | |
| Improving Affordable Access to Prescription Drugs Program | N/A | $10,700,000 | This is time-limited funding, from August 2021 to March 2025. This also represents funding transferred to PEI for an area that is under their jurisdiction and for which Health Canada has no decision-making role. | |
| The Shared Health Priorities Initiative | N/A | $4,303,529,429 | This initiative is a transfer of funds to the provinces. Furthermore, as per the various funding agreements, the provinces have committed to conducting evaluations to demonstrate the impact of this funding. | |
| Canada Health Act Administration | N/A | $1,784,366 | HC's activities have focused on the administration of the Act, such as monitoring for compliance. On an annual basis, the federal Minister of Health is required to report to Parliament on the administration and operation of the Canada Health Act, which provides good oversight on this activity. | |
| Healthy People and Communities ($2,222,129,703) | Canadian Thalidomide Survivors Support Program | 2024-25 | $16,517,117 | N/A |
| Healthy People and Communities - Vulnerable Populations | 2026-27 | $66,886,461 | N/A | |
| Action Plan for Official Languages | 2027-28 | $0 | N/A | |
| Mental Health and Substance Use | 2028-29 | $15,569,841 | N/A | |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-29 | $36,496,695 | N/A | |
| Canada Dental Plan | N/A | $2,086,659,589 | The timing for the evaluation will be determined during the development of a future Departmental Evaluation Plan. An evaluation will be conducted before the end of 2029-30 fiscal year in order to meet TB submission and FAA requirements. | |
| Quality Health Science, Data and Evidence ($194,368,080) |
Quality Health Data, Science and Evidence | 2027-28 | $127,963,214 | N/A |
| Health Care Policy and Strategies Program | 2028-29 | $51,231,169 | N/A | |
| Canada Brain Research Fund Program | N/A | $15,173,697 | Program authorities are set to expire in 2025-26. This extension was secured during the most recent program evaluation was conducted in 2021-22. | |
| Health Protection and Promotion ($709,158,641) | ||||
| Pharmaceutical Drugs ($73,965,995) |
ROEB Occupational Health and Safety Program for Inspections and Other Field Activities | 2025-26 | $791,807 | N/A |
| Pharmaceutical Drugs Program – Human and Veterinary Drugs | 2028-29 | $73,174,188 | N/A | |
| Biologics and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs ($45,081,638) |
Biologic and Radiopharmaceutical Drugs Program | 2024-25 | $45,081,638 | N/A |
| Medical Devices ($15,277,770) |
Medical Devices Program | 2025-26 | $15,277,770 | N/A |
| Natural Health Products ($17,813,249) |
Natural Health Products Program | 2026-27 | $17,813,249 | N/A |
| Food Safety and Nutrition ($63,192,927) |
Food and Nutrition Program | 2024-25 | $57,984,954 | N/A |
| Food and Nutrition Program - Nutrition Policy | 2027-28 | $4,413,339 | N/A | |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-28 | $794,634 | N/A | |
| Air Quality ($19,873,320) |
Air Quality Program | 2027-28 | $19,873,320 | N/A |
| Climate Change ($10,124,319) |
Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program | 2025-26 | $10,124,319 | N/A |
| Adapting to Impacts of Climate Change (Roll-up of Departmental Evaluations) | 2026-27 | $0 | N/A | |
| Water Quality ($2,741,872) |
Chemicals Management Plan | 2028-29 | $2,741,872 | N/A |
| Health Impacts of Chemicals ($47,131,278) |
Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan: Phase IV | 2024-25 | $681,658 | N/A |
| Horizontal Evaluation for Advancing a Circular Plastics Economy - led by ECCC | 2026-27 | $1,837,270 | N/A | |
| Oceans Protection Plan | 2026-27 | $737,068 | N/A | |
| Impact Assessment and Regulatory Processes (IARP) Horizontal Initiative | 2027-28 | $3,393,780 | N/A | |
| Chemicals Management Plan | 2028-29 | $40,481,502 | N/A | |
| Consumer Product Safety ($29,832,521) |
Consumer Product Safety Program | 2028-29 | $29,832,521 | N/A |
| Workplace Hazardous Products ($4,102,910) |
Workplace Hazardous Products Program | 2026-27 | $4,102,910 | N/A |
| Tobacco Control (including vaping) ($32,347,443) |
Health Portfolio's Tobacco and Vaping Activities | 2025-26 | $32,347,443 | N/A |
| Controlled Substances ($166,984,842) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Renewed Canadian Drugs and Substance Strategy (including the overdose crisis in Canada) | 2028-29 | $166,984,842 | N/A |
| Cannabis ($102,226,168) |
Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis | 2027-28 | $102,226,168 | N/A |
| Radiation Protection ($20,272,048) |
Radiation Protection Activities | 2024-25 | $20,272,048 | N/A |
| Pesticides ($39,288,061) |
Pesticides Program | 2024-25 | $39,288,061 | N/A |
| Specialized Health Services and Internationally Protected Persons Program ($18,902,280) |
International Protected Persons Program | 2027-28 | $460,857 | N/A |
| Specialized Health Services | N/A | $18,441,423 | No requirement to inform major policy or spending decisions. Low enterprise risk. | |
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