Read article originally published in The Hill Times
By: Michelle McLean
A lot has been said about Canada as a world leader in Artificial Intelligence. We have one of the fastest-growing concentrations of AI talent in the G7 and a robust ecosystem for start-ups. But while we may lead the world in the development of AI applications, no clear consensus has emerged on where Canada should focus government investment to have the greatest benefit.
AI is a powerful tool with the capacity to transform nearly every aspect of our lives, but as with any tool, its impact depends on where it is applied. With the ability to transform our healthcare system, improve care for every patient, revolutionize health research, and drive significant economic growth, the health sector must be at the top of Canada’s AI agenda.
Healthcare is not just another sector. It is the industry that arguably Canadians value and depend on more than any other. It is the second largest employer in the Canadian economy, dominates provincial budgets, and is a top priority of the public in every region of the country. What is not as widely recognized is that by developing and scaling digital innovations like AI in healthcare and health research, Canada can also build a modern, resilient economy that better balances our knowledge and natural resources economies.
Other countries are already demonstrating the return on investment for broad adoption of AI in healthcare. UK’s National Health Service’s AI lab, created to better integrate AI in health care and to help grow their economy, reported that a successful diagnostic AI tool built at the cost of 1.9 million pounds showed a whopping 44 million pounds in benefits.
The potential for AI in healthcare is clear. At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, AI-assisted image-guided therapy is improving outcomes and streamlining care. At Unity Health Toronto, forecasting tools saved nearly $1 million per year, and ICU monitoring reduced unexpected mortality by more than 20%. At CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, AI scheduling boosted access to oncology care by 10% and cut booking times by 80%. At Island Health in British Columbia, rural communities can now access AI-driven ultrasound. The Nova Scotia Health Authority operates an AI-enabled command centre that connects hospitals across the province in real time.
If there is any sector where AI can deliver measurable impact through improving care, cutting costs, enhancing efficiency, increasing productivity, and spurring economic development, this is it.
However, developing and adopting innovative solutions hospital by hospital, province by province, is an expensive approach to innovation and makes it challenging to share best practices, build trust among providers and patients as well as scale what works across the system. What’s more, without federal leadership, Canada will struggle to capture the enormous economic potential of Canadian-made AI healthcare solutions. The current decentralized approach of each health organization, system or province using a unique and differentiated process for procurement, adoption, and scaling solutions will not deliver system-wide efficiencies or lasting savings and does little to support the growing commercialization opportunities for Canadian innovators and industry partners.
The path forward is clear. We must build trust and skills: providers, patients, and policymakers need stronger digital and AI literacy skills, so these tools are understood and used responsibly. Hospitals, clinicians, patients, researchers, and industry must have spaces to collaborate, test and scale new solutions, supported by clear, centralized procurement pathways that allow proven Canadian technologies to spread across the system and succeed internationally.
AI can deliver immense social and economic benefits, and no sector offers a higher potential return on investment or stronger public support than healthcare. If we put health at the centre of Canada’s AI strategy, we can strengthen our healthcare system while lowering costs, improving patient care, boosting productivity, accelerating life-changing health discoveries, and growing a globally competitive industry that pays dividends for decades. This is not just good health policy. It is good economic policy, and why investments in AI for health must be at the top of the federal government’s priority list.
HealthCareCAN is the national voice of hospitals, health authorities, health research institutes, and healthcare organizations across Canada. Led by President and CEO Michelle McLean, HealthCareCAN convenes national healthcare leaders, provides health workforce professional development, and provides strategic advice to strengthen care, research and innovation in Canada.