With the six-year review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement approaching, Canada must prioritize urgently the competitiveness of its crucial life sciences sector. The pharmaceutical industry supports roughly 110,000 jobs nationally and contributes $18.4 billion to the economy. 

But, with a fresh majority government in Ottawa, and an unpredictable U.S. trade policy posture reshaping global economics, experts say Canada has to do more to attract and retain innovation and accelerate patient access to potentially life-saving medications. 

“Canada has been involved in so many health discoveries. The industry is a significant driver of high-value employment, international investment, and it’s a real economic driver for our country,” said Helen Trifonopoulos, Head of Market Access, Public Affairs and Patient Programs at Bristol Myers Squibb Canada. 

At the end of 2025, the company had 140 active clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas, involving roughly 1,500 patients in areas of high unmet medical need. 

Trifonopoulos says, “Canada has long been a priority research destination, and we are hopeful it remains that way. Seventy per cent of our Global priority clinical trials are conducted in Canada.” 

She continues, “We’ve had great innovations and medical discoveries here, but today access to medicines is increasingly at risk. It’s really time for Canada to take a step back and revisit the way it values innovation and the way it thinks about access to medicines.” 

To stay competitive as the global investment market shifts, governments must step up their efforts to encourage pharmaceutical innovation, speed up approval times, and simplify the way the industry is regulated across different provinces.

Speeding Up the Pathway to Access 

Compared to peer countries, in Canada drugs take much longer to move from regulatory approval to being available on public drug plans. In fact, our nation ranks 19th out of 20 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development in terms of the time it takes to make medicines accessible to patients. This sluggish performance can lead to tangible harms for people waiting for treatment in the medical system. 

“It means that patients in this window of time could be facing more advanced diseases and have fewer treatment options,” said Trifonopoulos. “It’s also really a major disincentive when global organizations look at where they’re going to invest clinical research or where they’re going to launch their new drug.” 

In 2024, the average time from regulatory approval to the first provincial listing of a drug was almost two years. 

Last September, the Ontario provincial government announced the “Funding Accelerated for Specific Treatments,” or FAST, Program. FAST is designed to speed up regulatory processes for life-saving cancer therapies by eliminating up to a full year of the wait time. 

If more provinces embrace and scale this type of system, it could meaningfully accelerate access to medicines and make Canada a more attractive destination for pharmaceutical investment. 

At the federal level, we should strive for parallel regulatory and access review, where Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) and pricing negotiations occur simultaneously with the regulatory process, so that access is achieved at the same time as regulatory approval. 

To enable this, Health Canada should be open to adopting rolling reviews, much like America’s Food and Drug Administration, which allows new data to be submitted as it becomes available without restarting the entire process. According to a 2018 study from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, such an integrated approach leads to HTAs giving approval 22 per cent faster than usual. 

Notably, Health Canada and the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA) have already been moving in this direction in many circumstances, and all parties must continue to find ways to work in parallel to close the gap between regulatory approval and patient access. 

However, industry stakeholders say the federal government needs to pursue this kind of review in more situations to keep pace with the progress of life sciences innovations.

A Task Force Built for This Moment

Against this backdrop, the federal government’s creation of the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force has been broadly welcomed by the industry as a meaningful signal that Ottawa is prepared to take the life sciences sector seriously.

“The Task Force is a real moment of opportunity,” said Trifonopoulos. “As a committed partner in Canada’s life sciences sector, what we’re looking for now is the chance to work alongside government and build something that works for patients, for the economy, and for Canada’s long-term competitiveness.”

There are already signs that momentum is building. Aligned reviews between Health Canada, CDA, and Quebec’s INESSS have reduced the time from regulatory approval to reimbursement recommendation by more than 80 per cent in just two years, a result that demonstrates the system is capable of moving quickly when given the right tools and a mandate for action. 

For the industry, the Task Force represents an opportunity to make meaningful progress on the issues that have held Canada back: securing sustained federal investment in innovative medicines and expanding access pathways more consistently across provinces and territories, all with the goal of benefitting Canadian patients.

Is There Too Much Variance Across Provinces? 

Canada’s healthcare system remains, in many ways, under provincial jurisdiction, which can lead to some issues with fragmentation across the country. 

“The federal government has a key role to play in making sure that there is a high level of ambition and more equitable access across the provinces,” said Trifonopoulos. 

Ottawa is not only in charge of transfer payments but can also work with the different review agencies to make sure that the pharmaceutical system operates in a much more streamlined, national way. The federal government substantially funds CDA, a pan-Canadian organization that provides advice to jurisdictions on various drug policy issues. 

Ottawa also has a role in the governance of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), which plays a central role in bargaining for drug prices on behalf of public jurisdictions. Having reliable and timely access to new pharmaceutical treatments is not only important for the vitality of the industry but can have meaningful patient impacts at the point of care. 

“Can you imagine if life sciences companies decide not to launch new drugs in Canada? That has a generational impact on a population if that happens,” said Trifonopoulos. “We know our decision-making can be faster and less fragmented, but we must be more competitive to ensure that we’re going to have global investment.” 

The Liberals returned to office a year ago with the promise of revamping and modernizing the way Canada’s economy works. As Prime Minister Carney ticks off improved energy and trade networks from his to-do list, it is worth recognizing how a competitive pharmaceutical market influences national sovereignty.

Incentivising Investment at a Critical Time 

As the CUSMA review approaches this summer, it will be important that Canadian negotiators keep the life sciences sector top of mind. Other jurisdictions are moving to protect and sustain their life sciences sectors.

“Recently, in the trade talks between the U.S. and the U.K., the U.K. made a commitment to double their net spend on innovative medicines from an 0.3 to 0.6 percentage of GDP over ten years (2035) and make HTA reforms,” said Trifonopoulos. “These are the types of tangible signals which can help drive the competitiveness of a jurisdiction on the world stage.”

Many of the changes underway in the Canadian economy are focused on attracting investment into the country’s innovative industries. In order to stand on its own two feet in the face of uncertainty south of the border, Canada must create the conditions for an efficient and robust medical treatment system fit for the twenty-first century. 

Throughout its storied history of medical discovery, from pharmaceutical insulin to the artificial pacemaker, Canada has excelled in an ecosystem designed to solve real health problems for patients in a collaborative and ingenious way. 

Now, at a pivot point for Canada’s global relationships, it’s time to advance a policy framework in Canada that fosters innovation, prioritizes a unified approach and expedites patient access.

Trifonopoulos says, “BMS Canada is ready to work constructively with government, patient advocates, and industry partners, not simply to respond to external pressure, but to use this moment to build something better: a policy environment that works for patients, rewards innovation, and positions Canada as a global life sciences leader.”

Helen Trifonopoulos is a seasoned Canadian biopharmaceutical executive and trusted thought leader serving as Head of Market Access, Public Affairs, and Patient Programs at Bristol Myers Squibb Canada. Helen is a passionate advocate for patients and a driving force in advancing Canada’s life sciences ecosystem.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Bristol Myers Squibb Canada and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of iPolitics.