The Canadian health system is mostly controlled by independent public entities, working under Medicare. The government covers 70% of Canadian’s needs, while the remaining 30% is paid through the private sector, whether by plans provided by the employers or through complementary insurance, which is held by two-thirds of Canadians that want to have better access to not covered needs, such as eye care or dentistry.

Even when 75% of Canadians are “proud of their healthcare system”, there are problems that need to be addressed. The Canadian Institute of Health reported that healthcare expenditure reached 12.5% of Canada’s GDP, reaching the 4th per capita spending among the OECD countries. But the same report showed the ageing population represents a 1% cost increase every year, a modest increase that could become problematic if it is considered that 80% of the adults reported having at least one major risk for chronic disease such as; smoking, physical inactivity or excessive alcohol use, also Canada has one of the highest rates of obesities among OECD. This is the reason why Canada needs to embrace innovation and good people health management.

Embracing Technology

Technology was quickly embraced by Canadians during the pandemic. Digital health had a surprising increase of 5,600% between 2019 and 2020. Pushing to areas such as chronic diseases, medical devices for patients’ auto use and the massive adoption of distance medicine. The companies that allow this revolution, would have not been possible without the investments rolling in. Investors have taken note of the opportunities and are buying into health businesses. In a record year for the initial public offering in 2020, healthcare companies led the pack with AbCellera, Repare Therapeutics and Fusion Pharmaceuticals all listed on Nasdaq. Among the adoptions within the industry is possible to find real-time translation services, to cross the language barriers of the multicultural Canadian population; or digital platforms for monitoring routines and specialized healthcare to receive better continuity care. The compromise from the Canadian government with innovation (not limited just to healthcare) is shown in the announcement of the Minister of Science and innovation in late 2022 of $1 billion Canadian dollars in funding to support scientists, researchers and students.

Made in Canada

In order to reduce and close the gap such as the lack of capacity to make advanced biologic products needed for vaccines and therapies, since 2021 the Canadian government is investing more than $2.2 bln Canadian Dollars through “Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy”. The investment program will go on for over 7 years with the purpose to develop a strong, competitive biomanufacturing and life sciences sector. The Strategy includes these foundational investments to help build Canada’s talent pipeline and research systems, as well as foster the growth of Canadian-based life sciences firms.

Medical Device Market

The future of the Canadian HealthCare device market is as brilliant as the rest of the industry. The overall market is valued at approximately $6.5 billion USD and it is expected to grow by 2.1% per year until 2026, led by small and medium-sized enterprises. Foreign companies are the ones that get the most profit out of this market, local production of medical devices just satisfies 30% of the domestic demand and the other 70% is covered by imports from the United States, China, Mexico or Germany. An increase in the demand for medical devices is expected due to the rise of diseases and the aging population, as well as a better awareness of health care.

The best prospects and services segmentation of the industry is cardiovascular and respiratory devices (up to 22% impulsed by COVID), surgical devices, medical diagnostic devices, spinal devices and diabetes monitoring. The manufacturers and distributors of medical devices produce revenue by selling to hospitals, primary care physicians and pharmacies.

Canada is making big efforts to become a leader in the health industry, to not miss the last trends in the market and develop your business in Canadian Health Industry, do not hesitate to contact TRANSFER.LC, your global business consultants.