Question Period Note: Tabling of Employment and Social Development Canada’s Supplementary Estimates (B) for Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2026

Why is Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) requesting a transfer of
$1.0 million from the Department of Employment and Social Development to the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research to support research on impacts of school food programs in
the Supplementary Estimates (B) for fiscal year ending March 31, 2026?

As the Government of Canada continues to implement the National School Food
Program, it is critical that data and research are available to support evidence-based
decision making. That is why $1 million is being invested, in partnership with the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to enable school food research on priority
topics, including how school food programs affect child and youth health and well?being.
• The $1 million requested for this partnership in Supplementary Estimates B for the
2025 to 2026 fiscal year is part of the $1 billion committed in Budget 2024 for the
National School Food Program.
• This investment will make sure that school food programs are informed by strong
research and real community needs. Filling key gaps in data and knowledge related to
school food programming in Canada will build a strong, evidence-based program that
helps improve health, learning, and access to nutritious food at school.

Provinces and territories play a critical role in school food programming and all currently provide
funding for school meals. As of March 2025, the Government of Canada has signed bilateral
agreements with all provinces and territories on the National School Food Program. Many
provinces and territories are already using funding provided through these agreements to support
children across Canada this school year.
Concurrently, the federal government and its partners are working to fill key gaps in data and
knowledge related to school food programming in Canada, which were underscored in an
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)-led engagement on this topic in early
2025. To help address these gaps, ESDC and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
partnered to launch a new research funding opportunity in August 2025 called the 2025-26
Partnering for Impact–Catalyst Grant.
CIHR is Canada’s federal funding agency for health-related research and works to advance
priority policy areas through the creation and translation of new knowledge into improved health
and well-being for Canadians.
Through this investment, up to $1 million will be provided to support up to eight research teams in
advancing co-produced research on the impacts of school food programs in Canada.
Complementing this investment, CIHR will invest up to $300,000 to support up to two research
teams focused specifically on the impacts of school food programs in Northern communities.
As the Government of Canada continues to implement the National School Food Program, this
funding opportunity will make sure that school food programs are informed by research and real
community needs.

Through the National School Food Program, the Government of Canada is investing $1 billion
over five years, starting in 2024 to 2025, to work with provinces and territories and Indigenous
partners to expand and enhance school food programs across Canada, guided by the
National School Food Policy.
• School food programs are increasingly widespread in Canada; a recent study estimates that
over 62% of schools offer at least one school food program, up from over 21% in 2021.
• There are significant gaps in the available data and research on school food programs in
Canada, as those with school food expertise underscored in an early 2025 engagement
conducted by Employment and Social Development Canada

To deliver real impact, a National School Food Program must be guided by data, community
input, and proven outcomes. This research will inform decisions that will support the health and
success of all children and youth in Canada.”
The Hon. Anna Gainey, Secretary of State for Children and Youth
“Investing in the health of Canadians is part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research raison
d’être. Our partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada allows us to fund more
grants in an area of need, and spark partnerships and collaborations in support of research
studying the impacts of the National School Food Program. CIHR looks forward to receiving and
reviewing the applications. "
Dr. Paul Hébert, President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research