About Us
Canada is transforming the way we plan for our health workforce to better respond to a growing and aging population, increasing demands for health services, and a shortage of health workers.
Health Workforce Canada is an independent organization established in 2023. Supported by our funder Health Canada, we unite health workforce experts, policymakers, researchers, health workers, patients and caregivers to strengthen health workforce data and planning. Collectively we can ensure health workers are there to provide the care people need within a cost-effective and sustainable health care system.
Health Workforce Canada is already making headway. Grounded in strong data principles, our efforts are generating innovative solutions to Canada’s most critical health workforce challenges.
We plan, build and support a strong, healthy workforce by:
- Convening the Networks: Working with partners to advance key health workforce priorities.
- Advancing Data: Connecting health workforce data to improve planning and support an efficient and effective health care system.
- Modelling and Forecasting: Catalyzing Canada’s capacity for workforce planning and modelling to bring about innovative solutions to close the gap between the number of health care workers we have and what we need to deliver the right care to people in Canada.
- Sharing What Works: Identifying and sharing best practices, tools, and innovations to build a resilient workforce and address key gaps and implementation challenges.
Our approach is grounded in collaboration, respect and accountability, with a commitment to supporting the resilience of all health workers. We are shaping a stronger, more equitable health workforce for the future by fostering meaningful partnerships, sharing knowledge, and leveraging data-driven insights. We will know we’ve been successful when our efforts result in accessible, well-utilized workforce data, effective collaboration on shared priorities, scalable solutions that sustain the workforce, and continuous learning that drives adaptation to Canada’s evolving health care needs.
Strategic Plan
Health Workforce Canada is dedicated to collaborating with partners to support data-informed planning and innovative models of care strategies to ensure worker wellness. Together we will help build a stronger, healthier workforce for the future.
Our first Strategic Plan 2025 to 2028 aligns with major health workforce initiatives underway across Canada. It is designed to guide our work to actively engage with diverse formal and informal organizations, networks, associations and communities of practice that are driving innovative solutions.
Our four strategic priorities, supported by key enablers, are at the core of our plan to strengthen and sustain Canada’s health workforce. Each priority will be advanced through key initiatives in collaboration with our partners.
Read on to explore how each priority will be addressed through key initiatives and how we will achieve success in collaboration with our partners.
Board of Directors
Glenda Yeates
Chair
Glenda Yeates is a consultant and mentor. She is a former Deputy Minister of Health Canada, former President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and former Deputy Minister of Health for Saskatchewan. She is a member of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Kimberlyn McGrail
Vice-Chair
Kimberlyn McGrail is a researcher and Professor at the University of British Columbia. She is CEO and Scientific Director at the Health Data Research Network Canada and Scientific Director at Population Data B.C. She is a special advisor to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Dr. Marcia Anderson
Marcia Anderson is Cree-Anishinaabe and grew up in the north end of Winnipeg with roots in Peguis First Nation and Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. She practices internal medicine, and serves as Vice-Dean, Indigenous Health, Social Justice and Anti-Racism in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba. She has won multiple awards, including the 2022 Doctors Manitoba Physician of the Year award, Community Development Award from the Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration.
Dr. Zubin Austin
Zubin Austin is professor and Murray Koffler Research Chair at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, cross-appointed to the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation – Temerty Faculty of Medicine. His research focuses on the professional and personal development of the health workforce.
Janet Davidson
Janet Davidson works in health care consulting with a focus on strategy, organization management and design, and governance. Formerly, she served as Deputy Minister of Health for Alberta. She has more than 40 years of experience in health care in the government, voluntary and hospital and community sectors in a number of Canadian jurisdictions and internationally. She is Administrator of the Nova Scotia Health Authority and a Board member of Bayshore Healthcare and the Hospital for Sick Children. She is the inaugural Johnson Fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute and co-chairs their health policy council and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Dr. Carl-Ardy Dubois
Carl-Ardy Dubois is Dean of the School of Public Health at the Université de Montréal (ESPUM) and full professor in the Department of Management, Evaluation and Health Policy. He has a multidisciplinary background, with a degree in medicine and graduate studies in epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration and public health. He has had a distinguished research career for more than 20 years and has demonstrated exceptional leadership in health workforce capacity building and has provided expert advice to ministries of health and health organizations across the world.
Jeannine Herritt
Jeannine Herritt serves as an Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for health service delivery and health workforce planning at the Department of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. As a Registered Nurse, she brings extensive experience in health care garnered from various direct care and leadership positions held within Newfoundland and Labrador’s health service delivery organization and the provincial government.
Dr. Alika Lafontaine
Alika Lafontaine is an anesthesiologist and health leader. He is immediate past president of the Canadian Medical Association and a recognized expert on health systems and health policy, with unique experience in Indigenous Health Systems.
Dr. Linda McGillis Hall
Linda McGillis Hall is a professor of health systems and research at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto. She is a leader in nursing health services and systems research, focused on health human resources and the nursing work environment.
Dr. Karima Velji
Karima Velji is Chief of Nursing and Professional Practice and an Assistant Deputy Minister for Ontario. She is a Registered Nurse and has held senior leadership positions in several academic health science centres and has operated a successful consulting company. Dr. Velji is a sought-after consultant for system level projects and has led external reviews of several organizations. She is a surveyor with Health Standards Organization (HSO), Accreditation Canada.
Dr. Verna Yiu
Verna Yiu is Provost and Vice-President Academic, University of Alberta. She is past president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, and a Board member at the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI).
Executive Team
Deb Gordon
Interim CEO
Deb Gordon is a Registered Nurse and health leader who worked more than 15 years in executive leadership roles at Alberta Health Services, most recently as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In that role, she was responsible for the effective provision of patient-focused, integrated and sustainable health services across Alberta. Prior to her executive leadership career, she worked in progressive clinical nursing and leadership roles in British Columbia and Alberta.
Longer Bio
Dr. Deborah Cohen
Chief Operating Officer
Deborah Cohen has more than 20 years’ experience in health care and health workforce data systems through the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI). She is an Adjunct Professor with the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Ottawa. She holds a PhD in Population Health with a research focus on modelling, equity and health system performance.
Longer Bio
Deborah Cohen is the Chief Operating Officer
of Health Workforce Canada, a newly formed
organization mandated to work with health
system stakeholders to plan, build and
support a strong health workforce for the
future – one that will enhance quality of
care and health outcomes for all.
Most recently she was Director of Health Human
Resources Information Systems at the
Canadian Institute for Health Information
(CIHI), where she focused on building
the pan-Canadian health workforce data
foundation, as well as health workforce
analytics and forecasting models to meet
critical health care planning needs across
the country. Throughout her 20-year career,
she has worked in a variety of health data
sectors including health human resources,
pharmaceuticals, mental health, population
health, Indigenous health, and equity.
Deborah holds a PhD in epidemiology and is
an Adjunct Professor with the University of
Ottawa, School of Epidemiology and Public
Health.
Lynn McNeely
Director, Data and Planning
Lynn McNeely has more than 15 years’ experience in health data, standards and systems for the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI). Most recently, she was Manager of Health Human Resources, Data Development. Before that she worked 15 years as a Registered Nurse in multiple clinical and case management roles across health care sectors.
Alison Steeves
Senior Leader, Communications and Engagement
Alison Steeves has more than 20 years of experience in health care communications and engagement. She has worked with a range of organizations, focusing on communications strategy, planning and execution. Previously, she was Director, Communications at Health Quality Ontario and has held a number of leadership positions in the non-profit and for-profit health sector.