The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is responsible for compiling public and private spending in various sectors of the healthcare system in the different provinces. CIHI's analyses suggest that Quebec spends the least on public health. Is it possible that this finding is biased?

In this report, the authors show that CIHI tends to overestimate public health spending in all provinces except Quebec. Public health refers to efforts to maintain the health of populations and prevent injury, illness and premature death. However, public health is defined in different ways by different public and government entities. Differences in the classification of public health spending from one province to the next complicate inter-provincial comparisons, and can affect the perception of provincial financial efforts in public health. By aligning provincial public spending levels, this study offers a renewed perspective on Quebec's public health efforts.