Seen & Heard: Innovator Exchange on Care at Scale in Montréal

Canada has the innovators to help deliver better health care. The gap is turning proven digital health tools into real system-wide capacity through better public buying, better data rules, and clearer pathways to scale.

On March 18, the Council of Canadian Innovators hosted an in-person Innovator Exchange in Montréal, with support from Dentons. The session brought together policy leaders, innovators, and government stakeholders to discuss how public buying and data can help transform health care delivery for Canadians, drawing on the ideas set out in Care at Scale: Public Buying, Data and Better Health Care for Canadians. The conversation was moderated by Dominique Babin, a Partner in Dentons’ Montréal office.

Here’s what we heard from the leaders in the room:

Jean Aouad, EVP Sales at Petal, spoke to the need for health care buyers to look beyond lowest-cost procurement and consider the broader value Canadian solutions can create across the system.

“Health care procurement needs to go beyond the lowest upfront price. Buyers must shift from a risk-mitigation mindset to value-based procurement, considering total public value, including better coordination, improved access, and stronger long-term outcomes. When they do, they make decisions that serve both patients and the system far better.”

Jeremy Altman, CEO at Equinoxe LifeCare, spoke candidly about the “pilot trap” and the difficulty of turning validated innovation into something the system is actually prepared to adopt at scale.

“Too often, companies are asked to prove themselves again and again without any clear path to a real contract. That slows growth for innovators, but more importantly, it delays access to better care for the people the system is supposed to serve.”

Adrian Schauer, CEO at AlayaCare, focused on the barriers created by fragmented systems and the need for stronger interoperability if digital health tools are going to deliver value across jurisdictions and care settings.

“We already know these technologies can improve care. The challenge is building a system where information can move properly, solutions can connect, and successful innovation can scale beyond isolated pilots into broader public use.”

Canada has the technology and the companies to improve care delivery, but adoption will continue to stall unless procurement pathways are clearer, pilots lead somewhere, and data rules make it easier for systems to connect and scale what works.

This Innovator Exchange was made possible thanks to the commitment of our partners. Special thanks to Dentons for supporting a direct conversation with innovators.

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About the Council of Canadian Innovators

The Council of Canadian Innovators represents more than 170 of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies. Founded in 2015, CCI advocates for policies that help Canadian innovators scale globally, create prosperity at home, and strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty.