The Politicization of Healthcare
Overview
This dialogue brings together senior leaders and former politicians from healthcare, academia, and public policy to address one of the most pressing and politically charged issues in Canada today: The state of our healthcare system and the necessary role of politics in shaping its future.
Background
Following the recent provincial (British Columbia, Ontario) and federal elections, healthcare has re-emerged as a central national concern. Canadians are voicing deep dissatisfaction with wait times, lack of access to primary care, under-resourced hospitals, closing emergency rooms, and rising costs. While all major political parties made healthcare a central plank of their campaigns, there is increasing disillusionment about the lack of substantive reform. Public frustration is mounting as system breakdowns are politicized but not resolved.
At the same time, healthcare is becoming entangled with broader political narratives, including immigration, housing, and the role of the private sector. These intersections are shifting how healthcare is debated and delivered, making it difficult for both practitioners and the public to navigate the path forward.
We must also consider the influence of the United States. Under the current U.S. administration, healthcare access and protections are being actively rolled back, with attacks on reproductive rights, Medicaid coverage, and public health institutions. These shifts in American policy often have ripple effects in Canada—reshaping how we think, talk, and legislate healthcare domestically. As political ideologies and media narratives increasingly cross borders, it becomes more vital for Canadian leaders to articulate a proactive, independent vision for the future of our own system.
Purpose
- To have a transparent and interdisciplinary dialogue among Canada’s leading healthcare thinkers.
- To critically examine the tension between policy promises and on-the-ground realities, with a view to exploring new narrative on the future of healthcare in Canada.
- To think critically about political platforms and evaluate the state of our healthcare system with greater clarity and agency.
Why Massey?
This conversation aligns directly with Massey College’s mission to foster leadership, learning, and civility on issues of public importance. By convening experts across sectors and perspectives , this event seeks to generate not just commentary, but insight into new ideas and coalitions committed to protecting and improving healthcare for all Canadians.
To view the even live from home here is the link to the YouTube livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/CrApzg4v0FM
MASSEY MEMBERS: Please login using your registered Massey email to receive applicable discounts and offers.
Speakers
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Anthony DalePresident & CEO Ontario Hospital AssociationAnthony Dale has served as President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) since 2013. Over his tenure he’s led the organization’s transformation, strengthening impact, creating new services, and increasing value in service of Ontario’s hospitals. Through the COVID-19 pandemic Anthony led the OHA’s efforts to support the hospital sector in the face of the most serious health crisis and civil emergency in the province’s history. Under his leadership, OHA member satisfaction scores have been 90% or higher for eleven consecutive years. Anthony has been with the OHA in a variety of roles since 2004.
In addition, Anthony currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP). He has been a HOOPP Trustee since 2017.
In December 2023 Anthony was appointed a Senior Fellow (adjunct faculty) at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.
Anthony has previously served as an aide to the Premier of Ontario and the Ministers of Health & Long-Term Care and Labour in a range of senior staff advisory roles within the Government of Ontario.
He has been a Director of Proximity Institute, a charity devoted to leadership development in the Ontario hospital sector. He has also served as a Trustee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and as a Member of National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, appointed in both instances by the Government of Canada.
Anthony holds a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in political studies, both from Queen’s University. He has completed the Accelerated Development Program (ADP) in General Management at London Business School in the United Kingdom. -
David Naylor
Dr. David Naylor is a distinguished physician, scholar, and leader in Canadian health and higher education. A Rhodes Scholar and former President of the University of Toronto, he previously served as Dean of Medicine and founded the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Dr. Naylor has chaired major national panels, including the Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health and the federal Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation. An Officer of the Order of Canada, his groundbreaking “Naylor Report” on research and innovation continues to shape Canada’s health and science policy.
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Carolyn Bennett
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett is a former Member of Parliament who dedicated her career to public service and community involvement. She was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997 and was re-elected eight times, representing the Ontario riding of Toronto—St. Paul’s.
From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Bennett served as Canada’s first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. In this role, she worked in close collaboration with provinces and territories to ensure that health inequities were understood and addressed, including for Indigenous Peoples, Black Canadians, and vulnerable Canadians, and that mental health care was integrated into Canada’s universal health care system. She also worked on the implementation of the 9-8-8 resources for people struggling with mental illness and suicidal ideation, and to address substance abuse issues in Canada.
Between 2015 and 2021, Dr. Bennett served consecutively as Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and as Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, guiding the government’s transformative work to renew its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
Dr. Bennett was Canada’s first-ever Minister of State for Public Health, from 2003 to 2006. In this role, she established the Public Health Agency of Canada, appointed the first Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, and created the Public Health Network, which enabled all provinces and territories to work with the federal government to protect the health of Canadians.
Prior to her election in 1997, Dr. Bennett was a family physician and a founding partner of Bedford Medical Associates in Toronto. She was also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and was President of the Medical Staff Association of Women’s College Hospital. She is a long-time advocate for health, the environment, women’s involvement in politics, and persons with disabilities.
In 1986, she received the Royal Life Saving Society’s Service Cross, a Commonwealth Honour Award recognizing her more than 20 years of distinguished service. She is also the recipient of the first Equal Voice EVE Award, a National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Leadership and Dedication to Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Canada, and the first-ever Champion of Mental Health Award from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. In 2023, she was made a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Dr. Bennett obtained her degree in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1974 and received her certification in family medicine in 1976. She was later awarded a Fellowship by the Canadian College of Family Physicians and the W. Victor Johnston Award recognizing continuous and enduring contributions to the speciality of family medicine.
She and her husband, Peter O’Brian, a Canadian film producer, have two sons.
