Canada needs a federal life sciences industrial strategy, a strengthened clinical trials system and a 10-year capital program to modernize health care infrastructure, says HealthCareCAN.

The global competition for life sciences investment, clinical trial activity and health innovation is intensifying. Countries winning that competition have strategies, sustained investment and the institutional capacity to execute, the organization said.

Canada has the talent, research strength and public institutions to compete, but has not yet created the conditions required to commercialize more Canadian innovation, attract private-sector investment and scale homegrown companies, HealthCareCAN said in a pre-budget submission for this fall’s federal Budget 2026.

HealthCareCAN is the national voice of Canada’s hospitals, health authorities, health research institutes and healthcare organizations. Michelle McLean (photo at right), is the president and CEO.

“Canada has the building blocks of a world-leading life sciences sector, with biomedical research excellence, a growing base of companies and strong public institutions, but without a coherent strategy, we are leaving economic growth on the table,” the organization said.

Canada can build a globally competitive life sciences economy by embracing hospitals, health authorities and health research organizations not just as delivery settings, but as powerful engines of innovation and growth, HealthCareCAN said. “These organizations are part of the country’s innovation and commercialization infrastructure.”

They generate and validate discoveries, host industry partnerships, run clinical trials, adopt and refine technologies, train talent and create real-world environments where Canadian firms can secure evidence, credibility and a first domestic customer.

Canada’s life sciences and bio-economy sector is a major employer, with approximately 200,000 people employed across 12,000 organizations in 2019. But the sector expects 65,000 new jobs will be needed by 2029.

The sector contributes about two percent, or $82.1 billion, to Canada’s GDP each year, but its potential is often estimated to be much higher, HealthCareCAN noted.

Demand for research, products and services generated by the life sciences sector is projected to grow in line with the needs of the health care sector, at a rate of 10 percent annually over the next decade.

Yet, while Canada is globally recognized for excellence in biomedical research and genomics, the country ranks only 17^th out of the top 25 innovative countries.

“Even with more than 2,000 life sciences companies, more than double as many higher-ranking peers, we still struggle to realize the full potential of our life sciences industry.”

HealthCareCAN’s submission recommended that the federal government work in partnership with the life sciences sector to develop a national life sciences industrial strategy with clear targets, timelines and accountabilities.

That strategy needs to ensure that hospitals, health authorities and health research organizations are explicitly included in that work as core enabling infrastructure for commercialization, clinical trials, procurement, technology adoption, talent development and domestic scale-up.

Ottawa needs to ensure that the national strategy includes practical steps to strengthen Canadian commercialization, increase the number of Canadian firms that can scale at home, improve domestic manufacturing and trial capacity, and create better pathways for Canadian innovations to be tested, adopted and purchased in Canada before they scale abroad.

Address barriers in clinical trials system and modernize infrastructure

Canada has the potential to be more than a middle power in clinical trials, but only if the country addresses three persistent barriers, HealthCareCAN said.

First, start-up timelines are too slow and inconsistent across the country, the organization said. Second, delivery capacity is too fragmented and unstable. Third, infrastructure gaps, especially outside large academic centres, limit Canada’s ability to attract and run trials efficiently at scale. “These are not abstract system problems. They directly affect whether Canada wins or loses industry investment, jobs, intellectual property and early patient access to new treatments. They also affect whether Canadian biotech and biopharma firms can grow at home or are forced to look elsewhere for the conditions to test, validate and advance their innovations.”

HealthCareCAN recommended that the federal government renew long-term Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding for national clinical trials platforms to provide the stable national coordination architecture that sponsors, investigators and health organizations depend on to secure and execute clinical trials in Canada.

This should include sustained support for national platform capacity, coordination, shared tools and infrastructure that enable Canada to compete for more trials.

The government also needs to set a national start-up standard requiring all sites to begin enrolling patients within 75 days of a Health Canada Clinical Trial Application, covering research ethics board review, contracts, budgets and all key activation steps, HealthCareCAN recommended.

Ottawa should provide targeted capacity-building investments for hospitals and research institutes, including community, rural and Northern sites, to stabilize the core clinical trials workforce, strengthen site readiness and expand patient enrolment beyond large academic health centres.

This should include dedicated funding for clinical research coordinators, research nurses, trial managers, data specialists, equipment and shared tools that allow sites to participate in trials consistently and at scale.

When it comes to health care infrastructure, HealthCareCAN pointed out that more than half of Canada's hospitals and health facilities were built more than five decades ago. With capital costs accounting for just 4.5 percent of total health care spending, “the cost of crumbling infrastructure is adding up.”

The federal government's $5-billion commitment in Budget 2025 is “a welcome down payment, but it must be the beginning of a sustained national approach to modernizing our healthcare infrastructure, not a one-time investment,” HealthCareCAN said.

The economic case for action is compelling, the organization noted. For example, the Ottawa Hospital's new campus is estimated to generate $3.77 billion in economic output, boost Ottawa's GDP by $1.92 billion, and create or sustain more than 4,000 full-time equivalent jobs during construction, while attracting new health research opportunities, supporting local tradespeople from Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, and driving activity in surrounding communities. “This is one project in one city. Scaled nationally, long-term capital investment in health infrastructure is not just health policy. It is economic policy and should be seen as an important nation-building project for government.”

HealthCareCAN recommended that in Budget 2026, the government launch a 10-year federal capital health infrastructure program with two dedicated streams, for physical and digital infrastructure, front-loaded to deploy most of the funding in the first five years to maximize impact, with predictable funding sustaining maintenance and expansion through year ten.

“The cost of inaction is real. Every trial lost to a faster jurisdiction is a job not created and a return on public investment that accrues elsewhere. Every year without a life sciences strategy allows competitors to extend their lead. Every deferred infrastructure dollar compounds a debt future generation will repay in capital costs and patient outcomes.”

Budget 2026 is an opportunity to change direction, HealthCareCAN said. “These targeted, evidence-based investments will build on foundations Canada has already laid, generating returns in jobs, IP, tax revenue and research excellence while delivering a health care system ready for the 21^st century.”

See also: Canada needs a life sciences sector as strategic infrastructure and a regulatory system incentivizing commercialization

Building Canada’s life sciences sector requires shift in research focus and making the sector a priority for the economy

Canada’s risk-adverse regulatory system and unpredictable drug access stifle novel drugs and clinical trials

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