Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund (HCCF): Results summaries
The HCCF funds interventions that address common behavioural risk factors for chronic diseases, including tobacco use, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity. These results summaries include projects with available data funded between 2018 and 2023.
- Last updated: 2026-04-07
Select a topic to learn more about the results.
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Published: 2026-04-07
The HCCF is committed to encouraging physical activity to help prevent chronic disease.
Certain populations face more barriers to being physically active due to inequities. The HCCF funds tailored physical activity projects for populations at increased risk:
- newcomers to Canada
- people with disabilities
- Indigenous communities
- 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
- people living on low incomes
Reach of funded physical activity projects
Results
Of project participants that completed the evaluation:
56% increased time spent in light physical activity
61% increased time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity
43% decreased time spent in sedentary behaviour
Examples of projects we funded to support physical activity
More than 95% of youth reported trying to be physically active daily
Right to Play's PLAY for Prevention (2016 to 2021) used play to promote physical activity among Indigenous youth.
More than 200,000 youth reached
Tremplin Santé's Power Up (2018 to 2024) supported camp programs to incorporate healthy habits for underprivileged youth.
95% of participants bicycled for active travel and recreation and 82% increased bicycling self-efficacy by the end of the program
Immigrant Services Society of BC's National Newcomer Bike Mentor Program (2021 to 2024) supported newcomers to make cycling a transportation choice.
723 students were able to access physical activity opportunities previously unavailable to them
PHE Canada's ReBOOT Schools (2022 to 2024) focused on physical inactivity among school-age children and youth.
Learn more about other HCCF-funded projects
Download the infographic
(PDF format, 1 page)
Published: 2026-04-07
The HCCF is committed to encouraging healthy eating to help prevent chronic disease.
Healthy eating is hard without access to healthy food. The HCCF funds tailored projects for populations at increased risk due to inequities:
- Indigenous Peoples
- newcomers to Canada
- people living in rural areas
- people living on low incomes
- racialized communities (such as Black and South Asian)
Reach of funded healthy eating projects
Results
Of project participants that completed the evaluation:
increased their vegetable and fruit intake
demonstrated improved food skills
reported improved social environments* to support healthy eating
* social environments are social settings that enable people to engage in healthy behaviours
Examples of projects we funded to support healthy eating
69% of participants reported improved food literacy
Cowichan Green Community Society's Transforming Tea and Toast (2021 to 2023) increased social connection and healthy eating in isolated older adults
91% of participants in 1 group increased vegetable and fruit intake
Community Food Centre's Canada Market Greens (2019 to 2025) increased access to vegetables and fruits among low-income community members
More than 85,000 youth reached and 85% of schools in 1 group reported an increase in students food literacy skills
SPARC BC's Farm to School (2017 to 2022) provided students with healthy food and food literacy opportunities
6 small-scale food retailers piloted projects to increase access (for example, fresh produce distribution, food delivery, healthy prepared foods, etc.)
Food First NL's Great Things in Store (2022 to 2024) co-designed retail interventions to address unhealthy eating among low-income households
Learn more about other HCCF-funded projects
Download the infographic
(PDF format, 1 page)
Published: 2026-04-07
The HCCF is committed to encouraging tobacco cessation and prevention activities to help prevent chronic disease. This will contribute to Canada's Tobacco Strategy (CTS) goal of reducing tobacco use to less than 5% by 2035.
The HCCF funds tailored cessation projects for populations at increased risk:
- Indigenous Peoples
- 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
- people living on low incomes
- adult workers in trades-based occupations (for example, construction)
Reach of funded tobacco cessation projects
Results
Of project participants that completed the evaluation:
decreased the number of cigarettes smoked per day
hadn't smoked in the past 30 days
hadn't smoked at 6 months
Examples of projects we funded to support tobacco cessation
100% of the participants in 1 group reduced tobacco use.
Canadian Cancer Society's Walk or Run to Quit (2015 to 2022) offered Indigenous communities a unique intervention that combined physical activity with smoking cessation support in the last 2 years of the project.
More than 900 youth and young adults reached
Lung Saskatchewan Inc's Youth4Change (2022 to 2024) provided educational initiatives aimed at raising awareness about tobacco use amongst First Nations youth and young adults both on and off-reserve
57% of respondents reduced their nicotine dependence within 6 months.
Canadian Cancer Society's Build Smoke-Free (2018 to 2023) focused on helping on-site construction workers to quit smoking.
406 young adults reached
University of Toronto's Expand (2019 to 2023) co-created social media posts, used advertising and engaged in conversations with the 2SLGBTQI+ community to address tobacco use
Tobacco use in this text refers to commercial tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco, which are sold and marketed widely. This is distinct from traditional tobacco used by Indigenous cultures for ceremonial purposes.
Learn more about other HCCF-funded projects
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Health Inequalities Data Tool
Health inequalities refer to differences in health status between groups in society. These differences can be due to biological factors, individual choices, or chance, but public health evidence suggests that many are attributable to the unequal distribution of the social and economic factors that influence health and exposure to societal conditions and environments beyond the control of the individuals concerned.
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