Stephen Samis

Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon (Territories)

Stephen SamisStephen Samis was appointed Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon in August 2017. He has more than 20 years of experience in health and health care, advancing evidence-informed health policy and population health to improve health systems and the health of Canadians.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Minister, he spent seven years at the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) in Ottawa as Vice-President, Programs. At CFHI he played a leadership role in transforming the organization, designing and implementing new programs, developing new partnerships, positioning CFHI as Canada's national healthcare improvement organization, and securing significant new and ongoing funding for the Foundation from the federal government.

Stephen’s previous roles included National Director, Health Policy, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Manager, Research, Analysis and Infrastructure for the Canadian Population Health Initiative at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Stephen began his career in British Columbia (BC), where he worked on strategic policy initiatives at the Workers Compensation Board and led, among other initiatives, the development of BC’s Framework for Action on HIV/AIDS (1998) within the BC Ministry of Health.
Stephen holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, is a member of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Population Health Initiative, part of CIHI, and has been a member of a number of other health-related boards and committees. During his career, Stephen has been a frequent spokesperson on a variety of health issues for television, radio, and print media.