What We Do

Public health focuses on the entire population at both the individual and the community level. It encompasses a range of activities performed by all three levels of government (federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal) in collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders and communities across the country.

As the main federal agency responsible for public health, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) supports approximately 2,400 researchers and staff, as well as a wide variety of programs and services offered by both federal government and non-government agencies (NGOs) across Canada.

The role of the Public Health Agency of Canada is to:

• Promote health;
• Prevent and control chronic diseases and injuries;
• Prevent and control infectious diseases;
• Prepare for and respond to public health emergencies, and
• Strengthen public health capacity in a manner consistent with a shared understanding of the determinants of health and of the common factors that maintain health or lead to disease and injury.

Through our research, programs and services, our goals are to bring about healthier Canadians, reduced health disparities, and a stronger capacity to deliver on and support public health activities.

As part of PHAC’s program activities, the Agency uses Grants and Contributions to fund community, voluntary and not-for-profit agencies to support government policies and priorities. PHAC currently has 20 Grants and Contributions programs which fund approximately 1,500 projects across the country and account for almost 40 per cent of PHAC’s annual budget.