Canada's AI strategy aims to unlock health data for research
Federal government pledges $100 million to make patient records more accessible while balancing privacy safeguards.
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The federal government is investing $100 million to make Canadians' health information — including imaging, medication records, and vitals — more accessible to researchers as part of its national AI strategy.
The funding will expand Vital, a platform currently connecting electronic health records from Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec. The expansion aims to help researchers conduct clinical trials, test AI health tools, and drive innovation in treatment and diagnosis, according to Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon.
"Canada's health-care system does not use data well to improve itself or to advance innovation and discovery," said Dr. Amol Verma, a physician and co-leader of Vital. Patient information is stored in separate hospitals and clinics, making it difficult to access and study at scale.
The initiative will require careful privacy protections. Data will need to be de-identified or anonymized, and access will be limited to approved researchers working within secure Canadian-owned platforms and data centres.
Canada's health data is particularly valuable because the population is diverse and the universal health-care system captures information from a large patient base, according to Khaled El Emam, a University of Ottawa professor who runs the Ottawa Medical AI Research Institute. With better access to health records, researchers could detect outbreaks, identify new treatments, and develop new drugs — potentially attracting global clinical trials and giving Canada first access to emerging therapies.
