By Blake Daly and Kumanan Wilson
Hospital News
Published on July 31, 2026
Instead of being framed as an economic cost centre, hospitals can be part of the health, economic and sovereignty solution by supporting Canadian controlled private corporations through their procurement policies.
“We’ll buy Canadian. We’ll build Canadian. And together we will build Canada strong.” Prime Minister Mark Carney made his strategy clear, as Canada grapples with a more uncertain trade relationship with its largest partner and renewed pressure to strengthen growth at home.
With this new economic reality, there is growing recognition that Canada needs to do more than just talk about supporting domestic industry. We need to build Canadian businesses, help them scale and keep more of the value generated by public spending here at home.
One of the biggest untapped opportunities to do this is healthcare. With nearly $400 billion spent annually across the system, public-sector procurement in healthcare should be part of any serious effort to bolster Canadian business and build domestic resilience.
Everything in a hospital was bought somewhere: beds, medical devices, software, diagnostic tools, food – the list goes on. The problem is how many of those things are procured internationally. With the kind of purchasing power healthcare has, how can those public dollars be invested in Canadian companies, Canadian jobs and Canadian intellectual property?
Most of those dollars will continue to leave the country if we don’t prioritize our domestic options. So why don’t we buy Canadian in healthcare?
Read more at Hospital News
