A national vision to raise Canadian health research up from down the rabbit hole

The famous exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland points out that if you don’t know where you want to get, it doesn’t matter which way you go. For far, far too long Canada has wandered aimlessly without a clear national vision to help us choose the optimal paths that would lead us to a supported, sustainable and invigorated health research system for the benefit of all Canadians.

Thanks to the expertise, input and ideas of health research leaders within its member organizations across the country, HealthCareCAN is putting forward just such a new national vision for health research in Canada. The fundamental goal of this vision is to help ensure Canada is a global leader in health research, with translational pathways that use the new, gained knowledge to improve health outcomes for people across the country.

HealthCareCAN supports a vibrant health research and innovation ecosystem, one in which Canada’s network of research hospitals, emerging health research institutes, postsecondary institutions, technology incubators, investors, start-ups, established companies, health charities, patient groups and governments work in collaboration within a national vision to advance science and develop solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of all people living in Canada and world-wide.

Canada has a strong history as a global leader in health research, with a storied health research and innovation ecosystem that fosters new discoveries, addresses global health challenges, and supports health system transformation for the benefit of all Canadians. However, HealthCareCAN and our Vice Presidents of Health Research Committee have become increasingly concerned that without increased investment to ensure sustainability, strengthened strategic partnerships, and further action to better leverage data and technology, health research in Canada will wither compared to our peer Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations who also happen to be our competitors.

HealthCareCAN’s National Vision to Transform Health Research in Canada contains a detailed set of recommendations and actions developed to shape a research landscape that addresses immediate challenges and positions Canada as an innovation leader on the world stage, drives breakthroughs in medical treatments and enhances people-centred care. The vision includes four key objectives:

1. Establish Canada as a global research and innovation hub

Canada must elevate its commitment to research and development by increasing spending on research and development to match other G7 countries’ average by 2030. Canada must provide leadership in health research and innovation by strategically allocating funds to health systems to support both strategic and investigator-led research, encouraging international partnerships, and tackling pressing global issues.

2. Accelerate the generation of new knowledge through innovative research

Canada must use research methodologies that incorporate social determinants, environmental influences, and people-centred care. Through the integration of cutting-edge technologies, Canada will lead in the global health research and innovation landscape, promoting accessibility, affordability, and excellence in healthcare delivery.

3. Empower a diverse and sustainable research workforce

Canada must support early-career researchers and cultivate future talent through initiatives that attract, train, and retain biomedical, clinician and data scientists, community health researchers, and health system investigators to ensure a diverse and sustainable research community.

4. Revolutionize health outcomes through innovative adoption, translation and implementation of research

Canada must prioritize the expansion of public-private partnerships between all levels of government, health providers, academic institutions, and industry players. By nurturing existing partnerships and cultivating new ones, Canada will harness the collective expertise of clinicians, patients and caregivers, cross-disciplinary researchers, and industry to accelerate the pace of innovation.

A detailed, forward-looking and action-oriented document, HealthCareCAN’s National Vision to Transform Health Research in Canada underscores the need for strategic investment, interdisciplinary collaboration, and robust partnerships to strengthen health research in Canada and revolutionize health outcomes. The vision also stresses the need for greater strategic action to integrate Indigenous-led health research and collaboration, empower a diverse and sustainable research workforce, and accelerate the translation of research into impactful solutions that drive health and economic benefits.

A fundamental element of the vision is ensuring enhanced and predictable federal financial support for investigator-led health research in Canada. The 2024 federal budget earmarked $1.8 billion in funding for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) over five years, starting this year, and $748.3M annually thereafter. Although less than the doubling of funding that HealthCareCAN was seeking, it is a historic investment in research.

That said, the funding is backloaded, with the three agencies splitting:

• $75 million in 2024-25;
• $153 million in 2025-26;
• $286 million in 2026-27;
• $517 million in 2027- 28; and
• $764 million in 2028-29.

The heavy backloading of the investment means that researchers in competitor nations, yet again, have a substantial head-start on innovation and the resulting economic benefits. Further, CIHR’s budget has increased only marginally in the past 10 years – from $1.02B in 2014 to $1.2B in 2023. This 17.65% increase is well below the rate of inflation for the same period, which increased by 26.88%

Through collaborative efforts and strategic investments, the aim for Canada is to shape a research landscape that addresses immediate challenges to provide the best innovative healthcare for the people of Canada, propels innovation on the global stage and continues to be an important economic driver and creator of good jobs. To make this dream a reality, Canada must embrace a new vision-based approach for health research, one that includes enhanced and predictable federal support for health research to help meet current and future challenges.