Canada and the Northwest Territories announced a renewed Working Together bilateral health agreement on October 5, with C$51.2 million in federal funding over seven years. Health Canada said the agreement will support the territory’s four-year action plan and marks the first in a series of renewed bilateral arrangements with provinces and territories. Priorities include improving public-health coordination and integrated primary-care teams, training and retaining health workers, and strengthening mental-health and substance-use services.

The plan also includes culturally appropriate mental-wellness and suicide-prevention programs delivered with Indigenous governments and community organizations. The announcement says the territory will continue to report publicly each year on progress toward agreed targets, and that the action plan will be updated in 2030–31 for the final three years of funding. The federal contribution is part of a larger national health-care framework; the $51.2 million is specific to the renewed Northwest Territories agreement.

The governments also announced a separate infrastructure package for 16 health projects in 12 communities. Ottawa is investing up to $70.299 million through the Provincial and Territorial stream of the Build Communities Strong Fund, while the Northwest Territories government is contributing $23.433 million. The money is to support construction or rehabilitation of health facilities that deliver health and social services. These infrastructure amounts are separate from the $51.2 million agreement and should not be added together as one bilateral health-services envelope.

Health Canada cited results from the initial agreement, which covered 2023–24 through 2025–26. The territory reported a 29% reduction in health-workforce vacancies, funding for 10 Indigenous governments and non-government organizations through its Community Suicide Prevention Fund, and support for substance-use treatment through the Territorial Addictions Medicine Program. The territory also offered two annual training positions through its Family Medicine Residency Program to address barriers to primary care in rural and remote northern areas.

The renewed agreement combines service priorities and accountability requirements, while the separate capital funding addresses the facilities where care is provided. Workforce training, recruitment, cultural-safety instruction, mental-health services and treatment for substance use each have distinct roles in the plan. The announcement does not identify the 16 infrastructure projects individually in its release or state when each will be completed. Annual public reporting is intended to track progress, while continued engagement with Indigenous partners is meant to inform culturally safe and appropriate care across the territory.