Evidence-informed health policy making in Canada: past, present, and future

Evidence-informed health policy making (EIHP) is becoming a necessary means to achieving health system reform. Although Canada has a rich and well documented history in the field of evidence-based medicine, a concerted effort to capture Canada's efforts to support EIHP in particular has yet to be realized. This paper reports on the development of EIHP in Canada, including promising approaches being used to support the use of evidence in policy making about complex health systems issues. In light of Canada's contributions, this paper suggests that scholars in Canada will continue engaging in the field of EIHP through further study of interventions underway, as well as by sharing knowledge within and beyond Canada's borders about approaches that support EIHP.