Two years after the onset of the pandemic, attention is increasingly focused on the adequacy of funding for key social services such as health care and care for the elderly. At the same time, the new confidence and supply deal reached between the governing Liberals and the opposition NDP in Ottawa promises to secure more federal funding in areas such as child care, pharmacare and dental care.

The 2022 Confederation of Tomorrow survey of Canadians confirms that there is considerable support for increased federal transfers to the provinces to help meet the rising cost of public health care. Views are more divided on the question of whether federal funding for social programs should come with strings attached.