Canada's premiers had a chat on Tuesday ahead of meeting in-person to discuss shared priorities.

Quebec Premier François Legault's schedule shows the virtual conference happened at noon. The premiers are set to meet on July 11 and 12 for a meeting of the Council of the Federation (COF). British Columbia Premier John Horgan chairs the COF and will play host in Victoria.

There's no public schedule for what they'll discuss, but issue number one will likely be health care — specifically, asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give them more money.

Even before the pandemic, premiers were asking the federal government to increase its share of health-care spending through the Canada Health Transfer from 22 per cent to 35 per cent. COVID-19 gave the premiers' demand greater urgency, as the virus continues to wreak havoc on health systems — which are managed by provincial and territorial governments.

Ontario's health-care system is under immense stress, with long wait times due to patient and procedure backlogs, and understaffing. Health-care workers are burning out quickly — a trend that isn't helped by public sector wage-cap legislation Bill 124, which unions blame in large part for nurses fleeing Ontario.

The feds note in the 2022 budget that Ottawa supports an average of 33 per cent of provincial health spending in total, when considering cash and tax point transfers. The Canada Health Transfer increases by at least three per cent every year, based on economic growth; in 2022-23 it will be $45.2 billion, which is 4.8 more than the previous year. The feds promise the transfer will give provinces $12 billion more over the next five years than what Ottawa budgeted pre-pandemic.

The premiers signalled their distaste after the budget was released, calling for a "significant, long-term increase" in funding.

"The federal budget missed an opportunity to address the major health care challenges facing Canadians," Horgan said in an April COF release. "Increased, predictable and sustainable federal health funding would make a real difference in people’s lives. Unfortunately, the federal budget failed to deliver on this priority."

When COVID began to spread rapidly around the world in March 2020, the premiers also called for the government to make Canada's Fiscal Stabilization Program more able to withstand economic downturns.

And COF called for more spending on northern issues — "community, transportation, broadband and energy infrastructure and climate action to benefit the lives of northerners and unlock economic potential." It's a file close to the Ontario government's heart, as Premier Doug Ford has promised to get the Ring of Fire project moving this term.

Premiers chat before Council of the Federation meeting next month

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