Remarks for the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health–Canada’s new approach on drugs to save lives, reduce cost and build the economy
Speech
IFPMA #WHA79 flagship event: #AlwaysInnovating
May 19, 2026
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In Davos, Prime Minister Carney said, "When the rules no longer protect you, you have to protect yourself."
As the global landscape changes, it is our responsibility to take action and protect our people.
To do so, we must adapt.
As the Canadian Minister of Health, my focus is on protecting lives, promoting well-being, reducing costs, and building our economy.
And this starts with a strong domestic pharmaceutical industry.
Our approach builds on 4 key pillars.
A regulatory system that inspires confidence, while giving companies the certainty they need to invest and grow in Canada.
Next, stronger alignment with provincial partners and like-minded countries so we can move faster, together, to help set the global standard.
Third, a modernized clinical trial framework that enables innovation while ensuring patients have access to new therapies.
And finally, a world-class talent and research ecosystem.
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For too long, companies have seen Canada's regulatory system too much as a barrier.
We are changing that.
We need a regulatory system that is timely, predictable, and grounded in science.
One that fiercely protects Canadians, while giving companies a clear reason to invest in Canada.
This means cutting red tape, improving transparency, and streamlining how new medicines are reviewed and approved.
We work with trusted partners and countries whose regulatory standards are comparable to our own so that we can act more quickly and bring innovative drugs to market faster.
We have also strengthened our assessment capabilities.
Just recently, Canada became the first G7 country to approve not one, but two generic versions of semaglutide.
Also known as Ozempic.
We need more initiatives like this.
As of right now, Canada meets its service standard of 300 days, 95% of the time.
This has remained consistent over the past 5 years, despite a sharp increase in demand.
And it makes Canada's one of the fastest among leading regulators.
But we are not standing still.
We are building on this with the mindset that when it comes to innovation, we can do even better.
Last month, we launched a Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force.
This Task Force brings together more than two dozen senior leaders and experts from the pharmaceutical industry.
They are working to identify barriers to growth and innovation within the sector in Canada.
With their help, we will make our policy and regulatory environment are more agile.
In 2024, Canada median time for priority reviews was of 223 days.
Ranking first amongst international regulators.
And with our new reliance order, we will reduce this time by up to 40, even 50%, by 2028.
Because in today's world, speed matters.
Certainty matters.
And ambition matters.
Our ultimate goal is simple:
To increase competition and to support reliable, affordable and sustainable access to safe pharmaceutical products in Canada.
But health in Canada is complex and our system is fragmented.
Our federal system at the origin of so many of our strengths can be quite often difficult to navigate.
If we want to succeed and attract more investments from the life-science sector, Canada needs to start acting like 1 market, not 14.
For example, since 2018, we have been conducting aligned reviews with our health technology assessment bodies.
Aligned reviews can reduce the time between a new medication approval and reimbursement recommendation by more than 80%.
And to push this effort further, I am announcing, today, that we invested 131 million dollars in the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance to support provinces, territories, and public drug plans in negotiating drug prices.
We are also changing how we work with trusted international partners so we can rely on like-minded regulators on certain parts of a submission.
So we can go faster.
Not only will this reduce the time between submission and approval but it will also reduce the administrative burden on companies.
Most importantly, it will considerably reduce the time patients have to wait to access a life-saving drug.
Because we all know, in healthcare, speed is not just about efficiency.
It is also about patients.
We are also working on our strengths.
Canada is a clinical trial powerhouse.
Canada ranks 3rd for new trials, representing 4% of global activity.
And we want to do more.
So, we are modernizing our regulations here as well.
Our new regulatory framework for clinical trials will build on the successes of existing clinical trials.
We are aligning this new framework with that of international organizations, including European agencies, to ensure greater consistency and build confidence across our jurisdictions.
This will help speed up patient access to treatments, support innovation, and enhance participant safety.
We are also establishing clear standards to provide greater predictability for companies wishing to conduct clinical trials in Canada.
Canada also benefits from one of the strongest research ecosystems in the world.
To have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need.
Research and innovation are how we achieve that.
This is why Canada is focused on attracting global talent and strengthening our research base.
Last fall, we announced 1.7 billion dollars to bring the best researchers, scientists and world-leading talents into Canada.
And we already started to welcome them.
By attracting international talent…
By supporting Canadian institutes …,
Canadian universities …,
Canadian scientists …,
With our 1.5 billion dollars National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases …,
We are creating a conducive environment to developing novel life-saving drugs.
Since 2016, we invested more than 22 billion dollars supporting fundamental research, new technologies like AI and quantum, world-class facilities and the next generation of Canadian researchers.
We are investing in science because we know Canada is where talent meets innovation.
Canada is the home of Frederick Banting and John Macleod at the University of Toronto, who invented insulin.
The home of Pieter Cullis, at the University of British Columbia, whose technology made the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines possible.
Of Michael Smith, whose work–also conducted at the University of British Columbia–earned him the Nobel Prize and revolutionized molecular biology.
And of Brenda Milner, whose groundbreaking research at McGill University helped lay the foundations of modern cognitive neuroscience.
But research is, by its very nature, global.
Discoveries only have an impact when they can cross borders.
The challenges we face–an aging population, rising costs, and the pace of innovation–are not unique to Canada.
And since these challenges are shared, so must the solutions be.
If we want innovation to move at the speed patients need, we must move together.
For me, that means working closely with everyone in this room to make sure that breakthrough research doesn't stop at borders.
Canada is the land of opportunity.
And it is the land of success.
We are not the biggest market.
But we are a trusted one.
One many rely on.
More than ever, Canada is where people look to.
We have the workers and the life science expertise.
We have the major infrastructures.
A clean grid.
Ports. Airports.
A reliable railway system that could, yes, learn a thing or two from Europe.
And an access to major international markets.
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Canada is welcoming companies and investments.
With a reliable and fast-tracked process that inspires confidence.
And while some will pick threats as their strategy for growth…
We choose another path.
We choose principles and pragmatism.
Because threats are not a Canadian value.
Tariffs are not the Canadian way.
Our values are anchored in respect…
Reliability…
Predictability…
Collaboration…
And the fundamental belief in talent and research.
We know that investments need a safe, protected, and reliable environment–just like the development of a groundbreaking medication.
What makes us Canadians, is our capacity to deliver exactly that.
We are actively working to make sure the next generation of life-saving drugs and vaccines is developed and manufactured in Canada.
With great talent, enhanced clinical trials, streamlined approvals, and the best workers in the world, Canada will become the reliable pharmacist the world needs right now.
And you want to be part of it.
Thank you.