April 22, 2026

Read article originally published in The Hill Times
By: Michelle McLean

Clinical trials, research studies that test new drugs, devices and procedures, are globally recognized as vital drivers of medical innovation, economic growth, and improved healthcare outcomes. Countries actively compete to attract these trials to foster strong healthcare research, provide citizens with early access to cutting-edge therapies, drive high-quality job creation and boost their life sciences sectors by attracting industry investment.

The global clinical trials market, valued at approximately $65–93 USD billion in 2025, is projected to grow significantly, potentially exceeding $150–200 USD billion by the mid-2030s. Currently, Canada ranks third globally for new clinical trials and holds roughly 4% of the global market. However, threats to that standing, and our ability to grow our clinical trials industry, are gathering steam.

According to a recent report, other countries are having great success in increasing their share of the global clinical trials market.  Australia has grown its clinical trials sector by roughly 5% annually since 2010, generating $1.6 billion in 2022. China is pairing faster review pathways with a more centralized system making it an increasingly attractive destination for global investment; trial starts from China-headquartered companies have seen a 25% jump from just a decade earlier. Other countries are not far behind in their efforts to become a market of choice.

Clinical trials are one of the clearest examples of Canadian healthcare and life sciences at their best: world-class researchers, public institutions, and private-sector investment working together to give patients earlier access to promising new treatments. While Canada is widely considered to be a middle power country rather than a global superpower, it possesses superpower-like potential in clinical trials, which could make Canada a leader in the global life sciences industry.

While trials are most often funded by the pharmaceutical industry, they are delivered by the hospitals, health authorities, and research institutions at the heart of Canada’s public healthcare system, where HealthCareCAN members play a leading role.  Not satisfied to be a middle power any longer, Canadian hospitals and research institutes are working collectively to address three main barriers holding Canada back, but we need federal leadership to accelerate this work and increase our competitiveness globally.

First, start-up timelines in Canada are too slow and inconsistent across the country. Ethics and contract processes are duplicative, data systems are siloed, and the reimbursement of new drugs and therapies remains inconsistent across the country.  Canadian hospitals and research institutions are accelerating clinical trial processes by implementing streamlined, standardized, and technology-driven approaches to improve speed and efficiency, coordinated by networks like the Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Consortium and Clinical Trials Ontario.  These initiatives, however, do not replace the need for regulatory change; patient enrollment within 75 days of a Health Canada application must become the new standard.

Second, we must increase trials delivery capacity. Clinical trial networks, site-level teams, and workforce training require stable, sustained national investment, including more grant funding to increase the number of trials Canadian researchers can lead, rather than the short-term, pieced-together funding that currently defines too much of the system.  Canada cannot compete as a collection of individual provinces making disconnected investments. We must have the national coordination mechanisms that allow Canada to present itself to global sponsors as a single, reliable destination.

Third, and most foundational, is infrastructure. We need further investments in hospital infrastructure that make trials possible and which attract global trials to Canada. And while some provinces have a strong showing – Ontario now has more than 5,000 active clinical trials and more than 2,400 industry-sponsored trials – other hospitals across the country, particularly mid-sized, community, rural, and Northern sites, lack the facilities, digital systems, and site-readiness supports to launch trials efficiently, which translates to inequity of access for Canadian patients.   Targeted federal investment in site-level readiness is not optional; it is what makes private-sector investment possible.

The life sciences sector in Canada has reached a critical inflection point.  We can be satisfied with our middle power status, or we can move decisively to become a global superpower.  Canadian hospitals, research institutes and other partners are stepping up to lead the charge for change but we need federal support to build our competitive edge and to realize the economic and patient benefit befitting a global superpower.

Michelle McLean
President and CEO, HealthCareCAN

HealthCareCAN is the national voice of hospitals, health authorities, health research institutes, and healthcare organizations across Canada.