Since the start of the twenty-first century, Canadian provinces have increasingly begun turning to the private sector to finance and construct large-scale infrastructure projects. From a critical public policy perspective, the danger of these public-private partnerships (P3s) is that they are more than just new ways to deliver public infrastructure. They are neoliberal projects that privatize and corporatize the basis of public services.

Analyzing four Canadian P3 hospital projects, Heather Whiteside argues that P3s not only fail to fulfill the promises made by their proponents but also compromise public control of health policy, outcomes, and future plans. Yet, despite these disadvantages, the use of P3s is being normalized and expanded in BC and Ontario through capital planning frameworks and special government agencies that support and encourage P3 projects. Based on extensive interviews with academic experts, union representatives, provincial government decision-makers, and private sector partners, Purchase for Profit will be important for those studying public policy in any of the areas in which P3s are now being adopted.

Introduction – Purchase for Profit
Chapter 1 – The Political Economy of Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships
Chapter 2 – Partnering for Profit
Chapter 3 – Normalizing P3 Procurement 
Chapter 4 – P3 Procurement and the Marketization of the Public Sector
Chapter 5 – British Columbia’s Pioneering P3 Hospitals
Chapter 6 – Ontario’s Pioneering P3 Hospitals
Conclusion 
Appendix – Development Timeline for Canada’s Pioneering P3 Hospitals