The provincial level of government is at the forefront of many of the services that Canadians value most, including health care, education, environmental protection, public infrastructure, safety and security. These are the same services that many citizens almost take for granted in their daily lives. What Canadians do not realize is that the ability of the provinces to continue to deliver the levels of service that they have grown to expect is being threatened.

Rising citizen expectations, combined with financial constraints and workforce attrition, are making it harder to provide this level of service. And, while these threats are well understood, there is relatively little attention being paid to the challenges that our provincial governments are facing or recognition that fundamental changes are required.

The following report, Provinces in transition: Tackling Canada's toughest policy and management challenges, draws on consultations with senior provincial leaders and a related research project by Deloitte Research. It focuses on seven key issues of significant concern: health care, meeting service delivery standards, replenishing the dwindling workforce, maturing the finance function, investing in higher education, closing the widening infrastructure gap and enhancing emergency response services. By putting these challenges into context, Provinces in transition presents strategies for reform, showcases examples where alternatives are starting to take hold, and provides action steps for accelerating the pace of change.

Read, Provinces in transition: Tackling Canada's toughest policy and management challenges.

Listen to the Provinces in transition podcast.

About the authors
Paul Macmillan is the national public sector industry leader at Deloitte. With more than 20 of years experience as a management consultant, Paul has assisted all levels of government across Canada with performance improvement initiatives.

Saad Rafi is the former national leader of Deloitte's Infrastructure Advisory and Project Finance practice and current Deputy Minister of Energy and Infrastructure for Ontario. Before having joined Deloitte, Saad had spent 17 years in various senior executive positions at the government of Ontario.