Agenda - 2026 - National Health-Tech Innovation Conference

Day 1 (AM)

April 21

BUILDING A NATIONAL BLUEPRINT FOR HELATHCARE INNOVATION

8:30 AM

Welcome to the National Health-Tech Innovation Conference

Dr. Matthew Bromwich

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic

President Vivek Goel

9:00 AM

Why Canada Isn’t Owning the Podium in Health Innovation

Canada consistently produces world-class health innovation. Our universities, clinicians, and entrepreneurs generate technologies capable of transforming how healthcare is delivered….

Jayiesh Singh

Anderson Chuck

Rachael Ritchie

9:00 AM

Why Canada Isn’t Owning the Podium in Health Innovation

Jayiesh Singh Founder Chief EO Officer, Able Innovations

Anderson Chuck President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

Rachael Ritchie Director, Innovation – Vancouver Coastal Health

Canada consistently produces world-class health innovation. Our universities, clinicians, and entrepreneurs generate technologies capable of transforming how healthcare is delivered. Yet many Canadian health technology companies face a familiar reality: while they are built in Canada, they often must scale elsewhere.

Drawing on the commercialization journey of Able Innovations Inc., Jayiesh Singh explores the structural paradox at the heart of Canada’s health innovation ecosystem. Despite strong talent and breakthrough technologies, systemic barriers — including hospital funding structures, procurement processes, and limited incentives for operational innovation — often make it difficult for Canadian companies to deploy and grow within the very healthcare system they aim to serve.

This talk examines the untapped potential for Canada to become a global leader not only in creating health innovation, but also in adopting and scaling it. It highlights the structural challenges innovators face today, while also pointing to the opportunity for hospitals, policymakers, and industry leaders to better align incentives, procurement, and policy to enable innovation to thrive domestically.

Ultimately, it raises an important question:
What would it take for Canada to build the future of healthcare — and deploy it here first?

9:30 AM

Working session

10:10 AM

Break

10:30 AM

Scaling Canadian Innovation – A National Model in LTC

Scaling proven technologies remains a challenge in Canada’s fragmented health care system. This panel highlights the CAN Health LTC Innovation…

Blake Daly

Monica Klein-Nouri

Ruben Hernandez Rodriguez

Steve Robertson

11:15 AM

Working session

Day 1 (PM)

April 21

From Pilots to Scalable Solutions: Overcoming Pilot Paralysis

1:00 PM

Scaling digital health with confidence

Bringing a mix of business insight and public service experience, Frank Baylis, Executive Chairman of Baylis Medical Technologies, kicks off…

Frank Baylis

1:20 PM

Proven steps and needed tools to move on from pilots

Lori Singh

Jerome Valero

Paul Samson

Tiffani Ghere

1:55 PM

Break

2:15 PM

Building a network.

How can participation in a national hospital innovation network support clinician-led solutions, shared pilots, applied research and R&D growth, responsible…