Made-in-Canada Life Sciences are an Antidote to US Trade War

The on-again, off-again threat of tariffs from the new US administration has everyone thinking about made-in-Canada solutions.

All across the country, consumers are buying Canadian products, and policymakers are prioritizing Canadian enterprises in the hopes of building a stronger, more independent Canadian economy.

Though we can’t follow our neighbours into isolationism, ‘made-in-Canada’ is having a moment, and it presents a unique opportunity to double down on our strengths to help secure our economic prosperity.

Canada’s Strength in Life Sciences and Innovation

Canada is often celebrated for our vast natural resources and strong manufacturing sector, but we’re also a global leader in areas like medical sciences, artificial intelligence, and health data sciences. These form the foundation of a thriving Canadian life sciences sector that contributes more than $80 billion annually to our country’s GDP. With smart, targeted investments, the life sciences sector could unlock an innovation economy that helps carry Canada into a post-tariff future.

The key pieces for a strong innovation economy are already in place. We’ve got world-class hospitals and scientific institutions, as well as brilliant innovators and entrepreneurs. Supported by strong scientific infrastructure, they are making life-changing innovations that could transform our relationship with diseases like cancer, and they’re also generating valuable intellectual property (IP) that is helping launch thriving new companies.

Strategic Advantages of Life Sciences in a Trade War

Life sciences innovations offer key advantages during a trade war. For one, IP is much harder to tariff than oil, steel or lumber. IP assets also benefit from higher barriers to competition and commoditization, giving them greater potential for growth and long-term economic sustainability.

Canada’s life sciences sector is also well-positioned to keep growing, backed by strong mandates like the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Ontario’s Life Sciences Strategy. At the same time, the scientific community in the U.S. is reeling from proposed changes to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), currently the largest funder of biomedical research in the world.

Capitalizing on the Opportunity Through Investment

Amid the chaos down south, we have a real opportunity to foster an innovation economy that is a pillar of the Canadian identity and an envy of the world. But we need to act swiftly and boldly, building on what’s already working well.

That starts with increasing investment in biomedical research, its innovators, entrepreneurs and the start-ups they create. Support from publicly funded institutions was critical to the success of companies like Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a Hamilton-based biotech developer that was acquired by AstraZeneca last year for $2.4 billion USD. More funding for life sciences will spark more valuable IP and launch more made-in-Canada success stories.  

We also need to keep that IP and the jobs and capital that come with it north of the border, and that’s where Ontario has a potential solution. The Ontario government has had great success helping cancer innovations grow locally, with the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) leading a community of scientists and innovators to advance cancer discoveries and FACIT providing strategic investment and commercialization support. This unique model of linked research and commercialization strategies has helped launch dozens of companies, created 1,500 highly skilled jobs, and attracted more than $1.6 billion in investments to the province’s economy.

Building a Resilient, Innovation-Driven Future

With so much uncertainty surrounding our largest international trading partner, this model could be expanded and applied in other provinces and sectors to leverage the enormous talent we have in this country. This would, in turn, generate tariff-proof products, launch successful homegrown companies, attract innovators to Canada and protect us from the fallout of other countries’ policy decisions.

This unprecedented trade war has shown us the fragility of the traditional pillars of our economy. Let’s expand our definition of made-in-Canada, looking beyond what’s in our forests or on the shelves of our supermarkets, and build an innovation economy that will improve the lives and livelihoods of our people for generations to come.