Stephen Harper defends health funding, criticizes province

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper deflected calls to earmark more federal funds to health care by criticizing the New Brunswick government for failing to spend all of the new money it is receiving on health.

Harper was in Fredericton at a campaign rally on Monday when he was asked whether he would consider revisiting the per capita funding formula that determines how much provinces get in health transfers.

The New Brunswick government has complained that the per capita formula, which helps provinces with larger populations, will mean it will be more expensive to deliver health services to an aging population.

The Conservative leader said health transfers have gone up during his time in office but he also pointed the finger back at the New Brunswick government.

"Not only have they been increasing more rapidly in this province, federal transfers for health care, than provincial spending on health care. But in some years we have actually transferred more additional dollars than the province has actually spent on health care," Harper said at a news conference in Fredericton.

"It isn't even spending all that money on health care."

We are going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under his proposed scheme.- Brian Gallant, New Brunswick premier

Premier Brian Gallant told CBC News Monday the provincial government has been trying to limit health-care spending because of the changes. 

"It's been very well documented that the changes that Stephen Harper has made to the health transfers is going to hurt small provinces, like New Brunswick," said Gallant. 

"We are going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars under his proposed scheme. What that means is, over the last few years, we're trying to adjust as a province, we're trying to keep our increases in health care to a minimum, but it's because of the fact that Stephen Harper has made these changes," he said.

In July, Gallant issued a statement on some of the biggest issues in New Brunswick that needed national attention.

He called for special funding to help provinces with aging populations and said the per capita funding formula would lead to higher costs in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick is spending $2.5 billion on health care this year and a considerable portion of that is coming from the federal government.

The federal government is also sending more health transfers to help the province. 

Ottawa sent New Brunswick $717.8 million under the Canada Health Transfer in 2015-16, which was up from $686.7 million in 2014-15.

The former Alward government was criticized for freezing health spending during its final budget, even though the province was receiving more money in health transfers from the federal government.