Health Canada is expected to announce a new federal action framework on Thursday targeting substance use-related hospital admissions, one day after a landmark report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed that one in ten hospital admissions across the country are directly attributable to the health consequences of substance use.

The report, released Monday by CIHI in Ottawa, has galvanized federal health officials and prompted urgent calls from provincial health ministers for coordinated national action. The data, which tracks admissions linked to alcohol, opioids, stimulants, and cannabis, represents one of the most comprehensive assessments of substance-related hospital burden in Canadian history and has drawn comparisons to earlier crises that prompted emergency federal spending.

Sources familiar with the Health Canada response indicated that Thursday's announcement is likely to include new funding allocations for addiction medicine units in hospitals, expanded access to opioid agonist therapy in emergency departments, and a renewed push for standardized substance use screening protocols across provincial health systems. The framework is also expected to include targeted measures for Indigenous communities, who are disproportionately represented in the CIHI data.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland is expected to present the plan alongside representatives from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and provincial health authorities. The announcement comes as Parliament prepares to rise for the summer, creating political urgency to demonstrate action before the recess window closes.

Advocacy groups including the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition have already called the CIHI report a 'wake-up call,' arguing that without structural investment in community-based harm reduction and detox capacity, hospital systems will continue absorbing costs that could be addressed upstream. Thursday's announcement will be closely watched for whether Ottawa commits to multi-year funding or limits itself to pilot initiatives, which critics argue have historically failed to move the needle on addiction-related hospital demand.