Agenda

What will Canada’s healthcare system need to look like by 2040 and what decisions must leaders make today to create it? Panelists will explore how governments, health systems and care providers can move beyond incremental improvements toward more connected, technology-enabled and person-centred models of care. The conversation will address the policies, workforce strategies, infrastructure investments and leadership approaches required to improve access, strengthen system capacity and support care closer to home.

Drawing on perspectives from provincial government, hospital leadership, clinical practice and digital transformation, the session will identify opportunities for greater collaboration across jurisdictions and sectors. Attendees will gain practical insights into how today’s strategic choices can shape a more resilient, responsive and sustainable Canadian healthcare system by 2040.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Explore the major demographic, workforce, and financial forces expected to shape Canadian healthcare through 2040
• Identify opportunities to redesign care around greater integration among hospitals, primary care, community services and home-based care
• Examine how artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and responsible data use can improve access, coordination, productivity and patient experience

2026 Canadian Healthcare Honourees

• Dr. Shakil Ahmad
  Director Quality, Risk, Emergency Preparedness, Patient Relations, & Occupational Health
  Runnymede Healthcare Centre
• Melanie Briscoe
  Administrative Director, North East Specialized Geriatric Centre
  Health Sciences North
• Andrew Moull
  Manager, Emergency and Disaster Management
  Hamilton Health Sciences
  Introduced by: Catherine Gaulton, CEO, HIROC
• Dr. Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard
  Full Professor, School of Nursing, Director
  Centre on Aging, University of Moncton

Preparing Toronto’s healthcare system for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ required more than planning medical coverage at individual venues. It required healthcare leaders and emergency management professionals to create a coordinated structure connecting hospitals, emergency services, public health, municipal and provincial partners, FIFA, and safety and security agencies. This presentation will examine how governance, risk assessment, demand modelling, communications, exercises, and integrated command structures were used to prepare for a complex, multi-venue and prolonged event while protecting routine healthcare services.

Through practical examples from planning and operations, the session will explore the leadership lessons that proved most important: building engagement across organizational boundaries, adapting to changing risks and requirements, positioning healthcare as a core public-safety function, and embedding clinical expertise within area command. Participants will leave with a practical framework for bringing health-system partners together, preparing for major events, and using preparedness initiatives to strengthen long-term collaboration and system resilience.

Mental health systems across Canada are navigating some of the most complex and publicly debated issues in healthcare, including medical assistance in dying where mental illness is involved, involuntary treatment, seclusion and restraint, substance-use policy, safe consumption services, and the balance between individual autonomy and public safety. These issues raise difficult clinical, ethical, legal, operational, and policy questions for healthcare leaders, governments, clinicians, patients, families, and communities.

This executive panel will examine how mental health organizations can respond to these evolving challenges while protecting dignity, improving access, reducing harm, and maintaining public trust. Panelists will explore how leaders can translate policy into responsible practice, engage patients and families in difficult decisions, communicate effectively during public controversy, and create systems that balance rights, safety, equity, clinical evidence, and organizational accountability.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Examine the ethical, clinical, legal, and operational considerations surrounding medical assistance in dying, involuntary care, seclusion and restraint, and substance-use services
• Explore how healthcare leaders can balance patient autonomy, dignity, public safety, clinical responsibility, and organizational accountability
• Identify strategies for communicating complex and controversial mental health policies clearly, compassionately, and transparently