We are overdue for a shift. For years, governments in British Columbia and across Canada have increased spending on medical care in hopes of improving health outcomes. But the results have been mixed at best — and the cost continues to rise. Despite record numbers of physicians per capita, people are still waiting for care, and our collective well-being continues to decline. 

So, what is missing? It turns out the answer is not more clinics or more doctors — it is more investment in the social services that actually keep people well in the first place. 

That’s the bold and evidence-based message behind Get Well Canada. And on May 15, we are inviting you to a free webinar that will explore how organizations working in child care, housing, income supports and education are not only central to improving health outcomes — but essential to fixing the affordability crisis as well. 

A new health equation 

Health science has long confirmed what frontline workers have always known: the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age matter more for their health than medical interventions. This includes safe and affordable housing, quality child care, stable employment, livable incomes and access to education. 

Yet, B.C.’s budget priorities do not reflect that. Since the 1972s, the ratio of social and education spending to medical spending — known as the SE/M ratio — has been falling. In 1976, B.C. spent 22 per cent more on social and education programs than on medicine. Today, B.C. spend significantly less, and the gap continues to grow. 

Get Well Canada is working to change that by helping governments, voters and service providers understand one simple truth: if we want to improve health outcomes and make life more affordable, we need to invest in the social services that prevent illness, not just the medical care that treats it. 

It is time to be bold 

This upcoming webinar is designed for social service organizations like yours. Whether you work with families, support housing, run community programs or advocate for income security, you are part of the health-care system — even if our current budget structures do not say so. 

The May 15 session will share: 

• Practical advocacy tools you can use immediately, like the SE/M ratio. 

• Key messages and data you can bring to funders, policymakers and the public. 

• Opportunities to collaborate on a shared campaign. 

Get Well Canada is a call to reframe how we define health and who we see as health leaders. As social services professionals, your work has always been essential. Now, it is time to claim the funding and recognition that comes with it. 

Join us on May 15 to learn how.

Together, we can shift the narrative — and the numbers — toward a healthier, more affordable B.C.