Delivering health services in Canada is a complex enterprise. An increasingly broad range of medical and health services are delivered to Canadians through 13 Provinces and Territories, each of which must respond to the unique needs of communities with a diverse range of regional, cultural, and economic requirements.  Organizing and managing effective healthcare delivery in this context is among the most complex and challenging jobs imaginable.    

 Although health service delivery in Canada is already among the best in the world,  burgeoning costs, rapid technological advances, and rising public expectations are creating  demands for change.  While health executives, politicians, and the Canadian public debate what those changes will actually look like, one thing is certain:  the health system will  need  new and improved leadership to help create and steward that change. 

 As the demands for change accelerate, new and improved leadership capacity is needed.  Leaders who used to run small community based hospitals have now found themselves running billion dollar regional conglomerates.  This demands different leadership than that practiced in the past.

 Recognizing the urgency of the leadership challenge in Canada, the Health Care Leaders Association of BC , has partnered with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and the Canadian Health Leadership Network to marshal resources against this challenge.  With the support of a growing  number of Provincial governments they have supported the Leaders for Life initiative.  And as partners in this venture, we share the common vision of “Developing the next generation of leaders for Canada’s health system”.