Canada Is Facing A Growing Healthcare Crisis
More than six million Canadians, nearly one in six of us, don’t have regular access to a family doctor.(1) Emergency rooms are overwhelmed. Wait times are increasing. And politicians across all parties are acknowledging that we’re in trouble.(2)
And yet, behind the scenes, a completely contradictory story is unfolding, one that could reduce access to natural health products and practitioners for countless Canadians.
The Hypocrisy: Reducing Natural Health Options In A Time Of Crisis.
While millions struggle to find a doctor, Health Canada is quietly implementing sweeping new regulations that will reduce, or even eliminate access to many natural health products.
Under the Self-Care Framework and Cost Recovery fee program, Health Canada is introducing:
- New licensing requirements for natural health product manufacturers.
- Significant annual fees that most small and medium-sized companies simply cannot afford. These fees will fund product licenses, site inspections, and more.
- Strict limitations on the types of health claims allowed.
- Penalties and fines up to $5,000,000 per day that could shut down long-standing natural health businesses (up from the previous fine of $5000 per offense).
The result? Countless natural health products and traditional medicines could disappear from Canadian shelves. That includes many of the products used by:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners
- Homeopathic doctors
- Herbalists
- Holistic nutritionists, and
- Naturopathic doctors
These practitioners don’t use a handful of products, they often rely on thousands of products and specific formulas to offer complete, personalized care. This is especially true for homeopaths, herbalists and TCM practitioners. If those products become unaffordable or unavailable, their practices will become incomplete and potentially impossible to continue.
On March 27, 2024, Health Canada hosted a closed door meeting with industry stakeholders on the topic of Cost Recovery fees. NHPPA’s Shawn Buckley attended this meeting where multiple natural health product manufacturers stated they would need to pull 40-90% of their products from the Canadian market in order to stay in business. Multiple manufacturers even stated they would be forced to cease operations in Canada entirely.
Natural Health Practitioners ARE Primary Care For Many
For millions of Canadians, especially those without a family doctor, natural health practitioners represent their primary or preferred source of care.
These are the people many Canadians turn to for:
- Digestive health
- Hormonal balance
- Chronic pain
- Mental health support
- Weight management
- Prevention and lifestyle guidance
- Immune support and recovery
Natural health practitioners empower people to take control of their own health. They take pressure off our overburdened healthcare system and help us stay out of emergency rooms and doctors offices.
So why would the government implement excessive regulations and fees that they know will reduce access to these critical services?
Worse still, these changes are being justified under the guise of “safety”, despite the fact that natural health products in Canada were already sufficiently regulated, with existing powers in place to deal with safety concerns, bad actors, and non-compliance.(3)
The Real Impact: Even More Canadians Without Care
Let’s connect the dots.
- More than 6 million Canadians can’t access a doctor.
- Natural health products and practitioners help keep people healthy and relieve pressure on an already overwhelmed system.
- Health Canada’s new regulations will reduce access to both products and practitioners.
This doesn’t just impact the practitioners or the product manufacturers and retailers. It impacts you. Your family. Your community. And the health of all future generations of Canadians.
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References
- CBC News (2024) Meet some of the 6 million Canadians who don’t have a family doctor. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/meet-the-canadians-without-a-family-doctor-1.7116475
- CTV News (2025) How Ontario’s political leaders plan to fix the province’s primary care crisis. https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/ontario-election-2025/article/how-ontarios-political-leaders-plan-to-fix-the-provinces-primary-care-crisis/
- Government of Canada (2025). Natural Health Products Regulations. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2003-196/
