Perspectives from the Canadian public health community on the use, adoption barriers to, and implementation supports needed for the Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 2.0.

The Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 2.0 come at a moment when the public health sector is grappling with uneven capacity, shifting expectations, and the need for clearer professional grounding. Reflections from national engagement sessions and a modified Delphi survey reveal that practitioners anticipate using the competencies to strengthen education and training, guide human resource practices, support public health advocacy, and inform organizational planning. These aspirations are tempered by concerns about the practical realities of implementation, including securing meaningful buy-in-from frontline staff to senior leadership-and the need for adequate time, funding, and organizational commitment. Participants also highlighted the complexity of applying a single competency framework across diverse roles, disciplines, and contexts, raising questions about how to translate broad concepts into everyday practice. Across discussions, there was a clear desire for coordinated, cross-organizational approaches to training and for concrete tools that would make the competencies immediately usable, such as assessment instruments, practice examples, and job description templates. Despite anticipated barriers, participants expressed strong support for the updated competencies and a belief in their potential to strengthen the public health workforce. Realizing this potential, however, will require implementation supports and leadership engagement to bridge the gap between endorsement and action.