Commitment to science in the 2018 Federal Budget is an investment in a future free of heart disease and stroke

Boost in research funding will help drive progress in innovations to dramatically improve health and lives, says Heart & Stroke

Feb 28, 2018

Heart & Stroke applauds the Federal Government’s renewed commitment to science with an investment of $1.7 billion over five years for fundamental research and granting council funding, including for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. We also applaud the $1.3 billion for related research infrastructure.

“Scientific research fuels the ideas driving advances in prevention, care, and recovery,” says Yves Savoie, CEO of Heart & Stroke. “Today’s investment in research and science will bolster our innovation ecosystem and strengthen the path forward for a new generation of researchers whose insights and talents are responsible for the discoveries that will improve the health and lives of people in Canada.”

Over the past decades, research breakthroughs have greatly improved heart and brain health in Canada.  But, heart disease and stroke remain leading causes of hospitalization and death in the country.

“Heart disease and stroke still take a life every seven minutes in Canada and have a tremendous impact on the lives of patients and their families,” says Savoie. “This commitment to science will help generate cutting-edge discoveries and turn them into life-changing treatments. Heart & Stroke looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Federal Government, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other partners to improve health and save lives.”

Heart & Stroke supports other measures in today’s budget that will promote health and prevent disease:

• Investment in gender equality, including increased funding opportunities and removing barriers for advancement for women researchers.
• Creation of an advisory council on the implementation of National Pharmacare.
• An additional investment of $18 million per year for the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy, and a tobacco tax increase of $1 per carton. This will support efforts to reduce and prevent tobacco use among people in Canada. Tobacco use remains the leading risk for premature death in Canada, killing over 45,000 people each year.
• Investments to healthcare services, water infrastructure, health data collection, and engagement with Indigenous communities. These investments and commitments are another step towards helping to close the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.
• Investments to support increasing physical activity through ParticipACTION. This will be beneficial to overall health especially when coupled with other healthy living initiatives, such as Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy.

About Heart & Stroke

Life. We don’t want you to miss it. That’s why Heart & Stroke leads the fight against heart disease and stroke. Together, we are working to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery through research, health promotion and public policy.

For media interviews, please contact:

Stephanie Lawrence
Senior Manager, Communications, Heart & Stroke
Stephanie.Lawrence@heartandstroke.ca
Cell: 613-290-4236
Office: 613-691-4020

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