Though most Canadian politicians and citizens acknowledge that there are problems with the present system, the proposed solutions often spark passionate debate. On one hand there are those that believe the problem is simply one of under funding. They point to the rise of conservative economic policies in Canada from the 1980's onward as the cause of the degradation of the system.

However, it is widely acknowledged that costs associated with the healthcare system have still been creeping upwards as a percentage of total government expenditures. Many critics however argue that governments merely made huge cuts to other programs as the reason for health care creeping to higher percentages of government spending.