OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's government said on Thursday it would invest up to C$10.5 ($7.74) billion savings it has gleaned from departmental expendtiures into healthcare and housing over the next three years.

The move is a first phase in repurposing some governemnt spending that was announced in the 2023-24 budget.

($1 = 1.3564 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Steve Scherer)