Strengthening Canada-EU Relations: A New Health Partnership

During last month’s European Parliament session in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in her State of the Union address: “I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to become the EU’s first associate member and creating a shared space for prosperity and economic security.”

The EU and Canada already have close ties.

A woman speaking at a podium in the European Parliament, with digital screens displaying information in the background and flags of various countries visible.

According to Government of Canada statistics, the EU is Canada’s second-largest trading partner globally in goods and services, with a total value of approximately $178 billion in 2025. The EU is Canada’s second‑largest global source of foreign direct investment (FDI), after the United States. EU FDI stock in Canada was estimated at $217 billion in 2025, while Canadian direct investment in the EU totalled $315 billion.

A group of officials greeting each other at a formal event, with cameras present and an audience in the background.

In June 2025, at the 20^th Canada-EU Summit, Canada and the EU launched the New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future, a framework that promotes collaboration in key areas such as digital transformation, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure.

At the 2025 Canada-EU Summit, Canada and the EU also signed the EU-Canada Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). The SDP is a non-legally binding partnership that reaffirms and regroups our security and defence activities with EU Member States under a single political framework.

Canada officially joined the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative on the margins of the Munich Security Conference in February 2026. SAFE is a key pillar of the EU’s Readiness 2030 plan, and Canada’s participation in SAFE will enhance defence readiness on both sides of the Atlantic.

Two individuals in formal attire walking and conversing in an indoor space, with black and white portraits of historical figures displayed on the wall behind them.

In May, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney became the first non-European leader to participate in the European Political Community Summit, in Armenia – another example of Canada’s growing role as a trusted partner to Europe. Canada will build on this momentum when we host the upcoming Canada-EU Summit from October 29 to 30, 2026.

Ahead of the event, we reached out to the European Commission for comment on EU–Canada health cooperation.

Eva Hrncirova, the European Commission’s spokesperson for health, told NXTin.Health:

“As President von der Leyen has announced, and as PM Carney has confirmed, the EU and Canada share a strong interest in developing further our already very strong relationship. Working in close coordination with our Member States and the European Parliament, we aim to create a new form of partnership that has not existed until now with a partner outside Europe.”

She also emphasised that the upcoming EU–Canada summit at the end of October would provide an opportunity to discuss this issue, among many others.

“The EU and Canada share a strong, long-standing partnership in global health, rooted in common values and close coordination in multilateral forums such as the World Health Organisation, G7, Global Health Security Initiative, and Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance. Cooperation spans health security, antimicrobial resistance, pandemic preparedness, non-communicable diseases, and pharmaceutical supply chains,” says the European Commission spokesperson.

She points out that, in May 2026, the EU and Canada adopted an amendment to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) extending mutual recognition of good manufacturing practices to active pharmaceutical ingredients, reducing duplicate inspections and strengthening pharmaceutical supply chains.

Last year, The Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), together with the Canadian agency Health Emergency Readiness Canada (HERC), also signed an administrative arrangement to strengthen response to cross border health threats. HERA and HERC will develop and strengthen cooperation in priority areas for medical countermeasures, namely:

research and innovation
addressing challenges in commercialisation and scale-up
supply chain resiliency

The Administrative Arrangement is operational for five years from the date of its signature. Throughout this time, cooperation will continue through discussion of current issues, experiences and the development of mutual interest in the area of medical countermeasures.

The European Commission’s spokesperson for health also says that the EU and Canada moreover cooperate on health research under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research & Innovation. Since Canada’s association to Horizon Europe Pillar II in 2024, Canadian researchers and innovators have collaborated in health-related projects worth over €28M in EU funding. She mentions example – the University Health Network’s participation in the ‘Ligand-AI’ project under the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, which aims to speed up the early stages of drug discovery.

A group of smiling individuals in a parliamentary setting, with one person wearing a red Canadian hockey jersey. The scene includes a male politician and several women, all appearing to engage in friendly conversation.

Notably, Canada has also teamed up with EU Member States and participates, as an associated partner, in European co-funded partnerships through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s federal health research funding agency. For example, CIHR participates in the Brain Health and One Health AMR partnerships, contributing to international coordination activities and to joint transnational calls. CIHR is also a partner in the EPPerMed consortium (European Partnership on Personalised Medicine) and in THCS, the European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems.

CIHR and Genome Canada – an independent, federally funded, not-for-profit organisation and a national leader in Canada’s genomics ecosystem – are also partners in ICPerMed, the International Consortium on Personalised Medicine. Within ICPerMed, the European Commission has observer status, and the CIHR Institute of Genetics chairs the consortium.

In addition, Genome Canada is currently the vice-chair of the funders’ Committee of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), which brings together over 60 organisations to align global research efforts and contribute towards common ambitious goals. The funders Committee consists of governmental research funders and non-for-profit private foundations, with the elected chair and vice-chair based in Europe and Canada, respectively.

An aerial view of a red carpet event under the European Union flag, featuring two individuals engaged in conversation. Surrounding them are security personnel and rope barriers.

Canadian researchers furthermore participate in European Research Council and Marie Sklodowska Curie Aactions calls under Horizon Europe Pillar I, including on various health-related topics.

We will continue to follow this cooperation.

Photos:

Mathieu CUGNOT Copyright: © European Union 2026 – Source : EP
Denis LOMME Copyright: © European Union 2026 – Source : EP
Alexis HAULOTCopyright: © European Union 2026 – Source : EP
@allexxandar, Magnific