Budget 2025: Ottawa Board of Health presents budget amid cost pressures [Video]

With the pressures of climate change, food insecurity and population growth putting a strain on Ottawa public health services, the Ottawa Board of Health trying to find a balance.

The city’s Board of Health presented an almost $83 million spending plan for 2025 on Monday evening. The balanced budget was achieved with some one-time funding of almost $500,000 from the city and by taking 275,000 from reserve funds.

Catherine Kitts, chair of the board, says the funding from the province has not kept up with demand or population growth, with the capital seeing some of the lowest per capita funding for public health in the Ontario.

She hopes a funding review the provincial government has undertaken will fix the problem in time for the 2026 budget.

“We need to have additional revenue it should be coming from the province. We are talking about healthcare but if not, then there will …