The Santis team shares its insights on the key sectors and factors driving decisions and change in the health care and life sciences sector across Canada.
Santis Health Welcomes Dr. Suzanne Strasberg to its Roster of Expert Advisors
Santis Health is pleased to welcome Dr. Suzanne Strasberg as its newest Senior Advisor. A family physician and respected health care leader, Dr. Strasberg brings decades of experience navigating the realities of primary care paired with a deep track record of medical association leadership and system transformation. Deeply involved with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), she most recently served as Chair of its Board from 2019 to 2025. She also served as board member and co-chair of the Committee on Public/Private Interface. Dr. Strasberg has also held a range of executive leadership roles with the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), including board chair, president and committee chair for family health organization (FHO) negotiations, strategic planning, and communications. She served as a member of the bilateral OMA–Ministry Primary and Community Care Committee for four years.
Read MoreRapid Recap: August 2026 Federal By-Elections
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - Late last night, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada unsurprisingly maintained a slim majority government with 173 seats following a sweep of three federal by-elections. In North Vancouver – Capilano, Liberal candidate Braeden Caley won the seat following the resignation of Liberal Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) Jonathan Wilkinson, who had served the riding since 2015 but stepped away earlier this year to serve as Ambassador of Canada to the European Union (EU).
Read MoreReviewing the Recommendations of the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force
July 27, 2026 - On Friday July 24, the Government of Canada's Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force released its report on how Canada can strengthen the competitiveness and long-term sustainability of its pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, improve reliable and sustainable access to medicines and support economic growth. Launched on March 18, 2026, the Task Force was created during a time of intense uncertainty and disruption in the global life sciences policy ecosystem.
Read MoreAlberta Opens Private Preventative Diagnostic Testing Market
July 28, 2026 - The Government of Alberta has officially launched Canada's first private-pay preventative diagnostic testing framework, allowing Albertans to purchase select diagnostic imaging services without a physician referral. The initiative, enabled through Bills 11 and 29, takes effect July 31, 2026 and represents a significant policy shift toward expanding private healthcare options while maintaining publicly-funded, medically necessary care. For health organizations, diagnostic providers, MedTech companies and investors, Alberta is positioning itself as the first Canadian jurisdiction to create a regulated private preventative screening market.
Read MoreCouncil of the Federation Meeting, Summer 2026 - Wrap Memo
July 24, 2026 - As Chair of the Council of the Federation (COF) this year, Premier of Prince Edward Island (PEI), Rob Lantz, hosted the Summer Meetings of the Premiers and First Ministers in Charlottetown. The meetings were set against the threat of a deepening recession, a stalled renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), and fresh tariffs from the United States (U.S.) — economic pressures that certainly helped shape every conversation throughout the past couple days.
Read MoreNavigating the Shifting Women’s Health Landscape
At Santis Health, we help organizations and companies navigate policy shifts and anticipate changing government funding priorities across Canada’s health ecosystem. Women’s health, in particular, is undergoing transformative changes and attracting unprecedented attention. Canada is moving towards introducing a national framework for women’s health, intended to fix inequities in systemic access to care and knowledge to improve health outcomes. There are plenty of stats that illustrate why Canada has been in dire need of a women’s national health strategy.
Read MoreICYMI: FAO Report on 2025-26 Q4 Spending
The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) released its year-end Expenditure Monitor for 2025 to 2026, and the numbers show where the province is actually prioritizing its dollars. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, health spending reached $97.2 billion, up 6.1% from the prior year and $1.2 billion more than the government originally planned to spend.
Read MoreRapid Recap: Ontario Launches Provincial Primary Care Record Procurement
Thursday, July 16, 2026 - Yesterday, the Ontario government formally launched the procurement for its provincewide Primary Care Medical Record (PCMR) system after closing out its marketing sounding exercise earlier this month. The province is moving forward with an open competitive process to establish a Vendor of Record arrangement, led by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Ontario Health and Supply Ontario.
Read MoreGovernment Affairs Team Bolsters Expertise with Two New Staff Members
Ottawa, ON - June 30, 2026 - Santis Health is pleased to welcome two accomplished professionals to our Government Affairs team: Ophelia John, who joins as Senior Consultant, and Maryam Mughal, who joins as Consultant. Both bring deep federal government experience and a strong grounding in health and social policy that will further strengthen the strategic counsel Santis provides to clients across the health care and life sciences sectors.
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