Canadian Hospital Association

In 1907, hospital superintendents from Ontario and Quebec created an informal association and held annual meetings until 1914. After the war, hospital managers generally joined provincial associations or had personal memberships in the American Hospital Association. Recognizing the need for a national group that could lobby the federal government for tax relief and present hospitals’ views on health insurance plans, the Hospital Service Department of the Canadian Medical Association, led by Dr. G. Harvey Agnew, arranged for the formation of the Canadian Hospital Council (CHC) in September 1931. Meeting every second year, the CHC consisted of provincial hospital associations and non-voting representatives from the federal Department of Pensions and National Health and provincial health departments. In 1937 and 1943, the CHC presented briefs to the Rowell–Sirois Commission and the House of Commons Special Committee on Social Security, in which it outlined the shortages in facilities, staff and funding that affected public, private and voluntary hospitals throughout Canada. Given the differing viewpoints of the Canadian Catholic Hospital Association and other members, the CHC was not wholly supportive of the 1945 Green Book proposals. However, with the implementation of national health grants in 1948, the council turned its attention to expanding its membership, and in 1953 it renamed itself the Canadian Hospital Association (CHA). This title was used until 1995, when it joined with other non-governmental organizations to become the Canadian Healthcare Association.